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Nathan Lyon Completes 500 Wickets In Australian Win Over PAK, Becomes 8th Bowler To Do So

image-lq9a6gycAustralian players converge around Nathan Lyon on Day 4 (x.com)

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon leveraged Pakistan’s batting collapse on Day 4 of their Perth Test.

The cricketer entrapped two Pakistani tailenders in succession, before Josh Hazlewood’s demolishing act handed Australia a monumental 360-run victory and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Regardless, Lyon’s two-wicket burst towards the end helped him scale 500 Test wickets, achieving the feat in the 123rd match of his career. In doing so, the 36-year-old became the third Australian bowler in history, and only the eighth overall to get to the landmark figure.

Nathan Lyon completes 500 Test wickets

Australian spin great Nathan Lyon entered the Perth Test against Pakistan with 496 wickets in his red-ball profile. The cricketer picked up three wickets in the first Pakistani innings, including the prized scalps of Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq to finish with figures of 3-66 from 24 overs.

Having extended his Test tally to 499 by the halfway stage of the game, Lyon trapped Pakistan’s lower-order batter Faheem Ashraf for just five on Day 4 to pick up his 500th victim in the format. The legendary spinner also bamboozled Aamer Jamal a couple of deliveries later to bag match-winning figures of 5-80, thus getting to 501 career wickets in the process.

Nathan Lyon became the third Australian cricketer in history, after Glenn McGrath and late Shane Warne, and only the eighth overall to get to the landmark figure. Moreover, Lyon also became only the fourth spinner in Test cricket to attain 500 or more wickets after Warne, Sri Lankan wizard Muthiah Muralidaran and Indian legend Anil Kumble.

As of now, the Australian enigma machine sits on an illustrious pile of 501 wickets from 123 Tests, all while maintaining an impressive bowling average of 30.86. Having made his format debut in 2011, the right-arm off-spinner has collected 23 five-wicket hauls, and 22 additional four-fers throughout his journey.

Nathan Lyon can now add a few more wickets to his tally when he takes field against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26 onwards for the second Test.