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‘I'm over the moon with what happened today’
Australia's star performer Nathan Lyon is pleased to have bagged the prized wicket of 'head of the snake' Virat Kohli but pointed out that the Indian skipper perished due to his own mistake on the first day of the second Test, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
Off-spinner Lyon, who walked into the record books with career-best figures of 8 for 50 today, said Kohli committed a mistake by not offering a shot to get himself out for just 12 as Australia skittled India out for a paltry 189.
"Everybody wants to compete against the best and he (Kohli) is one of the best players in the world. He is obviously the head of the snake if you want to put it in Dale Steyn's terms. So it's quite pleasing to take Kohli's wicket," Lyon said after first day's play.
"To take his (Kohli's) wicket today was exceptional but we know this series is a massive one and it's a long series. We expect him to bounce back," he added.
Asked about the manner he dismissed Kohli in the post-lunch session, Lyon said, "I think it was his mistake in the first game and it was the same today. That ball was nothing special. But as I said Virat is a world class player and we expect him to bounce back. We are lucky enough, it paid of today and it was a great day for Australia."
Asked how he motivated himself against the best players of spin, Lyon said he loved to bowl against the Indians and prove himself that he's a good bowler.
"It's pretty easy to get yourself up against the best players of spin. I like to challenge myself against the best players and I love to play well against the best players and prove to myself," he said.
"I don't need to prove to anyone else in the world. I just want to prove myself that I am good enough and I can compete hard. It was a very good day today and very fortunate enough to bowl in great partnership with the other bowlers. I was the lucky one on the day I guess," he added.
On Australia getting India out cheaply in the last three innings, Lyon said the visiting side worked on their plans and did their basics well as they knew India are a talented side.
"We sat down as a team and we know how good India are. We wanted to come out and compete hard against India and I think we are doing that at the moment. Cricket is a funny game and they are a talented squad with full of superstars so we need to keep working on our plans and do our basics well," he said.
"We have got that belief in ourselves and the atmosphere in the change room is unbelievable at the moment. If we can keep doing that then there will be some good days for Australia."
Lyon said the pitch helped his traditional way of bowling and he and Steve O'Keefe hoped to do the same in the second
innings.
Lyon said he took a leaf out of Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath's book to do well in India.
"The Indians are brilliant players of spin. SOK (O'Keefe) and the other spinners and myself just said we have to stay patient and build balls. You look at Rangana Herath, one of the best spinners in the world, and what does he do: he hits the same spot over and over again.
"He said to me after the series in Sri Lanka: 'I don't know if they're going to spin either.' So I'm working on the same plan as Rangana and he's going alright," Lyon said.
"I'm over the moon with what happened today. I will go back and reflect on it. I've proven enough to myself that I can compete at this level and I want to keep doing that for Australia. This is where my passion lies and I want to keep doing well for Australia," he said.
Asked how soon the pitch is likely to deteriorate, Lyon said it's an interesting wicket as he did not expect so many cracks on day one, but hoped that his team bats well tomorrow.
On Australia having more experience with DRS, Lyon said that three players -- Mathew Wade, Steve Smith and the bowler -- decide whether to go for it or not.
"I suppose so. We've played a fair amount of cricket over the last few years with DRS but it's up to the individual. We've got a really good platform now: we go straight to Matt Wade, the bowler and Steve Smith. Those three decide, and there's no other real input unless someone has seen something pretty obvious. DRS is here to stay; we've just got to use it to our advantage," he said.
Replying to a query, Lyon said he did not change anything in his bowling and was happy the way he bowled in Pune in the first Test and it was a privilege to work with Steve O'Keefe.