Nathan Lyon calls out truth about Virat Kohli in timely warning to Aussie cricket teammates
Kohli's sensational Test record in Australia belies his current form slump.
Nathan Lyon has warned Australia not to underestimate an out-of-form Virat Kohli after pointing to the India cricket star's exceptional Test record Down Under, ahead of the five-Test Border-Gavaskar series. Kohli and the Indians head into the opening match in Perth - which gets underway on Friday - as massive underdogs after being rolled 3-0 by New Zealand in their recent Test series at home.
India captain Rohit Sharma will miss the Perth Test after his wife gave birth to their second child, while a thumb injury is expected to rule out star batter Shubman Gill. But it's the sharp decline in form for Kohli that has dominated debate in the build-up to the series, with the 36-year-old only recording two Test centuries in the last five years.
Aussie cricket legend Ricky Ponting copped an angry response from India coach Gautam Gambhi for pointing out Kohli's form slump, before warning his countrymen about the veteran's Test record in Australia. Kohli averages a staggering 54.08 when batting in Tests in Australia after scoring 1352 runs from 13 matches - an incredible record for a visiting batter.
And Lyon echoed the thoughts of Ponting after describing Kohli and teammate Steve Smith as the two best batters of their generation, insisting his men won't be taking Kohli lightly. "Look at his record out here," Lyon said. "Overall, look at his record. You don't write off champions. I've got nothing but respect for Virat.
"I want to get him out, there's no point in hiding behind that, but it's challenging. Him and Smithy (Steve Smith) are probably the best two batters in our last era of this last decade. It's been pretty amazing competing against him for so many times."
Australia hoping to snap Test series drought against India
The Aussies head into the five-Test series looking end a long drought by reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2017. Lyon is one of only four members of the current squad who were part of Australia's last winning Test series against India in 2014-15. Even captain Pat Cummins, who debuted in 2011 and is preparing for his 63rd Test, has never lifted the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
India capitalised on the suspensions of Smith and David Warner when they recorded a historic series win in Australia in 2018-19. The tourists then proved it was no fluke by pulling off a famous 2-1 series win two years later. The Aussies also went down 2-1 in a four-match Test series last year, where Lyon took 22 wickets for the series.
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The veteran Aussie spinner says he doesn't need any reminder of those previous defeats to India and has cautioned his side not to buy into the narrative that the under-fire Indians are ripe for the picking. "They're dangerous all the time," Lyon warned. "They're a side full of superstars.
"They've got so much experience, but talented youth as well and you can never write off that. I was fascinated by that series to New Zealand, but we're expecting the best India that we've played against for a number of years now."
with AAP
