Veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon jolted the Pakistani batting line-up on the first day of the 2nd Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The 30-year-old scalped 4 wickets within 6 balls to push the hosts on the back foot, becoming the 4th highest wicket-taker for Australia in Test cricket.
Unlike the Dubai Test, Pakistan looked subtle against the Aussie attack. Despite batting patiently after losing Mohammad Hafeez in the third over, the top order fell prey to Nathan Lyon’s spin as half of the team was back to the dressing room in the 22nd over itself.
Here's how the downfall took place:
Pakistan’s sudden collapse began with the penultimate ball of the 20th over when Lyon broke the 52-run partnership between Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali. The Aussie spinner perfectly trapped Ali with one of his mysterious deliveries and removed him on 15.
In the very next ball, he sent packing Haris Sohail on a golden duck. A flighted delivery bamboozled Sohail who failed to get his bat over the ball. He hit the splice and the ball went directly to Travis Head who was posted at the silly point.
In his next over, Lyon sent two more Pakistani batsmen back to the pavilion, that too, on a duck.
Asad Shafiq fell against an off-break delivery that spun back sharply. He tried to stride it forward but failed to cover for the spin. The ball took a fine edge and lobbed gently to short leg. Labuschagne made no mistake in grabbing an easy catch.
A ball later, Lyon rattled the wickets of Babar Azam to become the 4th highest Aussie wicket-taker in whites.
Those two overs from Lyon turned out the worst nightmare for Pakistan. While the Aussies had the control of the game, there was a complete silence in the Australian dressing room.
With 314 wickets (and counting), Lyon has surpassed Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee to reach this feat. He is behind Shane Warne (708), Glenn Mcgrath (563) and Dennis Lillee (355).