Australia is planning hard for the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be played in Adelaide. Recently, Australia’s offspinner Nathan Lyon revealed that their team is focused on every Indian player rather than focusing on a single player.
Jasprit Bumrah is one of the few names that Australia will be wary of. Bumrah picked up 8 wickets in Perth and was adjudged the Player of the Match for his incredible bowling performance. He picked up a terrific five-wicket haul in the first innings and finished with 5-30.
However, Nathan Lyon made it clear that Australia is not solely focused just on Jasprit Bumrah and has its eye on the other Indian players as well. According to the offspinner, the whole Indian team is talented and Australia knows well what to expect from them.
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Jasprit Bumrah on Australia’s target ahead of Adelaide? Nathan Lyon breaks silence
During a press conference ahead of the second Test in Adelaide, Nathan Lyon called the whole Indian team a bunch of superstars. However, he warned his team not to take the other players lightly and claimed that the other players also needed to be focused upon.
“I look at the Indian squad and see a group of superstars. Cricket, however, is a team game-winning requires the entire side to perform well. India boasts extraordinary players like Jasprit Bumrah and others, but it’s not just about the superstars,” Lyon said.
“The rest of the Indian squad is also incredibly talented. They’re an incredible cricket team. We’re not focusing solely on any one player, that’s for sure,” he added.
Nathan Lyon further mentioned that Australia respects everyone in the Indian team but added that his team is going to give a tough fight to the visitors in Adelaide by playing its brand of cricket.
“We have nothing but respect for every Indian cricketer who takes the field on Friday. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to compete. We respect them, but we’re determined to play our brand of cricket and compete hard against a quality side. India is one of the best teams in the world,” Nathan Lyon noted.
Nathan Lyon surprised to see the duo of Ashwin-Jadeja dropped
Nathan Lyon was also surprised to see experienced spinners like R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja out of the playing XI for the first Test. He praised the quality and skills of Indian cricketers and predicted to be a good challenge in Adelaide.
“More than surprises me. But the quality of Indian cricketers that they got in that squad, don’t they? You’ve got Ashwin and 530 odd wickets and then you got Ravindra Jadeja over 300 wickets or whatever it may be,” Lyon said.
India played Washington Sundar in Perth
Neither Ashwin nor Jadeja got a chance to play in the first Test in Perth as India went with Washington Sundar as the lone spinner. Sundar had a decent match with two wickets in the match.
Washington Sundar made a comeback into India’s Test team from the second Test against New Zealand at Pune. In two Tests of the series, he picked up 16 wickets and emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker of the series.