Ranchi : Former Australia captain Ian Chappell on Sunday said Nathan Lyon’s ability to extract “extra bounce” brought him the wickets, bringing the visitors back into the series-deciding fourth Test against India here.
India let go of the initial advantage before reaching 248 for six at stumps on day two, trailing Australia’s first-innings total of 300 all out by 52 runs.
Off-spinner Lyon was the most impressive Australia bowler, returning figures of 4/67 in 28 overs.
“It’s his ability to get overspin on the ball and to get that extra bounce if you look at a couple of his wickets that were brought about by bounce, particularly Karun Nair,” Chappell told ‘ESPNcricinfo’.
He added, “It was the bounce that fooled him, so I think that was the big difference between Lyon and (Ravichandran) Ashwin and even though Ashwin is a taller bowler, because he doesn’t overspin the ball as much as Nathan Lyon, he doesn’t get that one that occasionally really bounces off the pitch.”
The 73-year-old batting great felt India should have been “pro-active” before tea, while lauding Lyon for his spell.–PTI