Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Rohit Sharma considers Nathan Lyon as one of the best overseas bowlers to tour India | Rohit praises Lyon ahead of 4th Test
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma hailed Nathan Lyon as the topmost overseas bowler to tour India in recent times after the off-spinner’s 11 wickets across both innings in the third Test helped the visitors pull the series back 2-1.
Sharma admitted that he has not played against greats like Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, but explained that Lyon’s relentless accuracy makes tasks difficult for batsmen to counter him on such pitches.
“I think he should be at the top in my opinion. Obviously, I have not played guys like Murali or Shane Warne. But, to me, in the current crop, Lyon is probably the number one bowler from the overseas to come and play in India. He has got so much consistency in his line and length,” Sharma explained.
He added, “He doesn’t give you too much. Someone bowling with that much accuracy, you have got to try and do something different, find your ways of scoring runs against him because you know that he is not going to give you anything easy.”
Lyon picked eight wickets in the second innings to help Australia bowl India out for 163. He especially made it difficult for them to attack him as India looked to get some quick runs under their belt to put forth a challenging fourth-innings total in front of the Australian unit.
Sharma appreciated Lyon’s fearlessness against getting hit for boundaries and pointed at that as an important trait that has enabled him to succeed in India.
“Now obviously he has played so much cricket as well for Australia; very experienced bowler. He is not afraid of getting hit, that is something that I have noticed. That gives him a lot of confidence and that gives the captain a lot of confidence that I have got a guy who can just not worry about anything,” the captain said.
“I know that he is going to pitch it there and let the pitch do the rest for him. When you have got someone like that, it gives you a lot of confidence as a whole,” Sharma signed off.
