Australian spin legend Nathan Lyon opened up on his battles with star India batter Virat Kohli, together with one on the Adelaide Test again in 2014 during which the 36-year-old smashed twin centuries in his check captaincy debut and made the spinner one of many prime targets of his assault. After a horrid house Test season in opposition to Bangladesh and New Zealand and underwhelming Test numbers through the years, Virat can be making his fifth Test sequence tour of Australia below the hardest of circumstances, together with his long-format legacy and spot on the road as India awaits a transition following ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.
His battle with Lyon can be an attention-grabbing one to observe, given the star batter’s long-standing struggles in opposition to spin bowling these days, particularly in spin-friendly circumstances at house.
Virat has an unimaginable report in opposition to Lyon, scoring 529 runs in opposition to him in 32 innings, averaging 75.6 and hanging at round 51. He has been dismissed seven instances by Lyon.
Speaking about their battles on cricket.com.au, Nathan recalled how throughout his Adelaide particular, Virat would discuss his “beautiful forehands”, corresponding to Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer in an effort to get below the pores and skin of Australian gamers.
“The battle that comes to me is the 2014 test at Adelaide Oval where he got the 100’s in both innings. I was bowling to him and he was batting that easily. He would come down to non-striker and just say Federer,” stated Nathan.
“And I was like, OK, what is this and he kept doing it, kept doing it. Every time. Every time he would come down and he was like, Federer, Federer,” he added.
“And I said, mate, I do not know if I am wrong, but we are playing the wrong sport If you think you are Federer. And he goes ‘Nah, nah I got a beautiful forehand’. I was just like, OK, you are a decent player, if you can just sit there and do that mid-innings,” he concluded.
That 2014 tour to Australia, following a disastrous tour to England, was a turning level of Virat’s profession, as he smashed 692 runs, averaging 86.50, with 4 centuries and a fifty. His finest rating within the sequence was 169.
MS Dhoni’s retirement within the sequence halfway additionally noticed him step up as a captain, which went on to alter the course of Indian cricket in coming years. Under Virat’s tenure, India received 40 Tests and improved considerably in abroad circumstances.
Virat’s kind from 2016-2019 is among the many best peaks within the longest format, having made 4,208 runs in 43 Tests and 69 innings at a mean of 66.79, with 16 centuries and 10 fifties. It was throughout this era he smashed seven double centuries, essentially the most by a captain in Tests, a report which nonetheless stands.
But issues have modified a decade later. This yr in 19 matches throughout worldwide codecs, Virat has simply scored 488 runs at an incredibly low common of 20.33, with simply two half-centuries in 25 innings and finest rating of 76.
Since 2020, Virat has confronted an elongated lean patch within the whites, scoring 1838 runs from 34 Tests at a mean of 31.68, comprising simply two centuries and 9 fifties.
Virat has had a horrific house Test season this yr in opposition to Bangladesh and New Zealand, during which he scored simply 192 runs in 10 innings at a mean of 21.33 with only one fifty. In the most recent ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings, Kohli slipped out of the top-20 record for the primary time in 10 years.
The journey to Australia might spark one other hearth in Virat’s thoughts as he has thrived in opposition to them traditionally. In 13 Tests in Australia, Virat has scored 1,352 runs at a mean of 54.08, with six centuries and 4 fifties. His finest rating is 169.
Across all codecs in Australia, Virat has scored 3,426 runs at a mean of 56.16, with 11 centuries and 19 fifties in 70 innings. His finest rating is 169.
The much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar sequence between India and Australia kicks off on November 22, with the primary Test at Perth. The second Test, that includes the day-night format, will happen below lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10.
Fans will then flip their consideration to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18.
The conventional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the sequence’ penultimate stage.
The fifth and ultimate Test can be held on the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an thrilling climax to a extremely anticipated sequence.
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