IND vs AUS Test: Nathan Lyon lavishes praise on Axar and Ashwin, says duo can bat in top-six in any Test team
Ashwin (37) and Axar (74) took over the team's onus after India were 139/7, with Lyon taking his 22nd five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Australia star player has lavished praise on Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel after their brilliant performance on the second day of the second Test at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With a priceless 114-run eighth-wicket partnership, Axar and Ashwin put the hosts on an even keel against Australia and powered India to score 262 runs in the first innings.
Ashwin (37) and Axar (74) took over the team's onus after India were 139/7, with Lyon taking his 22nd five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The Australian spinner complimented the two India players saying the duo could easily bat at No.6 for any Test-playing team.
"They are not lower-order (batters). Let's get that clear. Axar and Ash could easily bat in the top-six in a few teams in Test cricket around the world in my eyes. They (India) have a very long top order, let's just say that," said Lyon.
Lyon said he will not get into any target setting at the moment with the Aussies being at 61/1 and having a lead of 62 runs at the stumps.
"I'm not going to give you a number. Whatever we get we have to make sure it's enough. That's the mentality we need to do (go with); we need to come here tomorrow and be really brave."
Lyon took all his five wickets from the Old Pavilion End, as the cracks created at the Ambedkar Stadium End helped in generating uneven bounce.
"Bowling around the wicket in this game, I'm still trying to target off stump. That's my goal. If you understand cricket, you will understand what I am trying to do and trying to get them defending because we know how good the Indian batters are. If I can make them defend, hopefully, I'll create a few chances here and there."
Squads
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann
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