Masterful Goat bamboozles Pakistan’s batsmen
NATHAN Lyon surged into fourth spot on Australia’s all-time wicket-taking list with a stunning decimation of Pakistan last night in Abu Dhabi.
Lyon ripped through Pakistan’s top order with four wickets in six balls to give Australia a golden shot at breaking a seven-year drought on Asian soil.
Television cameras captured Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur in the stands swearing and shaking his head in utter disbelief at the tentativeness and unfathomable shot choices of a top order that appeared in the box seat to bat Australia out of the match after winning the toss on a notoriously flat pitch.
Lyon now sits behind only Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee in Australia’s wicket-taking hall of fame with 314 Test victims, after his extraordinary burst of 4-0 in six deliveries left Pakistan reeling at 5-77 at lunch. At one point he was on a hattrick, and when he missed, he took his third scalp one ball later.
Azhar Ali played a loose shot back down the wicket to fall as Lyon’s first victim, but the most inexplicable dismissal came from Babar Azam who tried to slog one against the spin second ball, despite the fact Lyon had just been on a hat-trick.
In Pakistan’s defence, the wicket turned far more than expected for a first day, and this could be a short Test match, but their failure to adjust in conditions they know so well came as a major shock.
The anguish and distress etched all over Arthur’s face said it all.
On day one of the first Test in Dubai, Australia barely got a look in for two sessions of painstaking toil.
But with the series on the line in Abu Dhabi, the chaos started in just the third over of play when short-leg specialist Marnus Labuschagne held one of the great juggling catches to get rid of first Test century maker Mohammad Hafeez.
The freakish in-close catch, which he juggled using his groin, a thigh and both knees, was made all the more incredible by the fact it was off Mitchell Starc steaming in at pace.
Ironically, Labuschagne later dropped a sitter off Jon Holland at mid-wicket, but it mattered little as Lyon’s carnage opened up at the other end.
Travis Head and Labuschagne took two other in-close catches at short-leg off Lyon and the absurdity of bedlam almost continued when Fakhar Zaman (49 not out) needed a full-stretch dive to narrowly avoid being run-out.
Australia has not won a Test series in Asia since 2011 when they beat Sri Lanka.