While the likes of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have understandably dominated the narrative in the lead-up to the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the tournament’s previous editions have often been defined by the brilliance of two other modern greats: Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon. With over 500 Test wickets each, their careers have run parallel over the last decade and beyond, shaping the series in ways few others have managed.
When the Perth Test begins on Friday (November 22), the two off-spinners will face off in the eighth series of their careers. With both players now in their late thirties and closer to the end of their journeys than the beginning, this duel will be one to savour.
“He’s taught me a lot,” Lyon said of Ashwin to Fox Cricket. “I’m a big believer in the players that you play against are your best coaches that you eventually come across. I’ve watched a lot of his footage heading over to India, the way he goes about it here in Australia, see if I can pick up anything.
“The way I look at cricket is that I’ve never met anyone who has conquered the game, never played against or with anyone who’s conquered the game. There’s so much to learn in this great game, and there’s so much for me to learn off Ash. He’s a world-class bowler. He’s taken over 500 Test match wickets and he should be extremely proud of that.”
When India and Australia last played a series Down Under, Ashwin outbowled Lyon in a 2-1 series win for his side. It’s something Lyon admits left an impression on him, not just as a competitor but as a student of the game.
“Ash is an incredible bowler,” Lyon said. “I’ve gone head-to-head with him for basically my whole career, so I’ve learned a lot from Ash. He’s an incredibly smart bowler, and he’s able to learn and adapt very quickly, and I think the best bowlers in the world are able to do that.
“He used his skill to benefit himself and his team. So you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due, he was the best bowler [in 2020-21 series], as he usually is, so hats off to Ash.”
While Lyon was part of Michael Clarke’s Australian side that last held the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back in 2014-15, he’s keen to get his hands back on the silverware after four back-to-back series losses. He feels the Australian team is on the right track to do great things this summer.
“India’s got the wood over us in the past few series, but if you’re looking at the World Test Championship [final] in England, we were able to beat them there, and I know that should give us a bit of confidence heading into [this series],” Lyon said.
“We understand that we’re coming up against a world-class side, but we can take a lot of confidence out of where we are at as an Australian cricket team. I feel like we’re on the journey to becoming a great team. We’re not there yet, there’s a bit of work to do, but we have the opportunity to do something pretty special this summer.”
All said, Lyon remains acutely aware of the formidable challenge India present, their 3-0 defeat to New Zealand on home turf notwithstanding.
“I think they’re extremely dangerous,” Lyon said. “They’re a class outfit, and they know their best preparation and how to come out here and perform. It’s going to be a cracking Test series.
“It’s been a long ten years since Australia’s held the trophy. There’s only a few of us that would probably be in the squad that’s actually held the trophy, so it’s time to bring it home.”