In the first Test against Pakistan at Perth Stadium, spinner Nathan Lyon’s stellar performance brought him to the brink of a historic 500 Test wickets milestone.
Now he stands at 499 Test wickets. Lyon’s brilliant effort of 3-66 on day three propelled Australia to assert their dominance, restricting Pakistan to 271 all out, trailing by 216 runs behind Australia’s commanding first-innings total of 487.
Pakistan’s top order struggled against Australia’s bowling attack, with opener Imam ul-Haq’s resilient 62 off 199 balls being the standout in an otherwise faltering innings. Lyon’s crafty display saw him dismissing key batsmen, including Imam and debutant Aamer Jamal, while Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc chipped in with two wickets each.
However, Australia faced early hiccups in their second innings, reeling at 5-2 after David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne fell cheaply to debutant Khurram Shahzad. Despite the initial setback, a resilient 79-run partnership between Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith steadied Australia’s innings. Khawaja and Smith’s efforts guided Australia to 84-2 by the day’s end, asserting a commanding 300-run lead.
Reflecting on the day, Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood expressed satisfaction with the team’s improved bowling performance, aiming to set a formidable target for Pakistan on the following day’s play. Lyon, on the verge of an illustrious milestone, stood as the linchpin in Australia’s quest for victory.
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