Nathan Lyon, the renowned Australian off-spinner, scripted history on Friday, January 3, by becoming the all-time leading wicket-taker in the World Test Championship (WTC) history. He surpassed the Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s record of 195 wickets during the ongoing fifth Test match between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Nathan Lyon achieved the milestone by dismissing India’s Shubman Gill on the last ball before lunch on the first day of the match. Shubman Gill, who had replaced Rohit Sharma in the playing XI for the final Test, was caught by Steve Smith at first slip after scoring 20 runs off 64 balls.
Currently playing his 48th WTC match, Nathan Lyon has now accumulated 196 wickets, edging past Ashwin who stands at 195 wickets from 41 matches. Pat Cummins, Australia’s Test captain, also shares the second spot with Ashwin, having picked up 195 wickets in 47 matches. If Pat Cummins manages to take at least one wicket during this Test, he will also surpass Ashwin’s tally and move to the second position behind Nathan Lyon.
Nathan Lyon, who is already Australia’s third leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, had also overtaken Ashwin’s career tally of 537 Test wickets in the previous match played from December 26 to 30 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
During that Boxing Day Test which Australia won by 184 runs, Nathan Lyon played a crucial role by picking up three wickets in the first innings and two in the second, helping dismiss India for just 155 runs in their second innings while chasing a target of 340.
A key figure in Australia’s bowling lineup, Nathan Lyon is expected to play a pivotal role not only in the ongoing Sydney Test but also in the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka later this month. He now eyes another historic achievement – becoming the first bowler in the WTC history to claim 200 wickets.
So far in the ongoing 2023-25 WTC cycle, Nathan Lyon has taken 52 wickets from 14 matches. His consistency has been remarkable, as he is one of the only three bowlers to have dismissed at least 50 batters in each of the three WTC editions held so far. The 37-year-old cricketer also holds the record for the most dismissals in a single WTC cycle, having taken 88 wickets during the 2021-23 edition for Australia.
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