Nathan Lyon determined to win the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Star Australia spinner Nathan Lyon is determined to win the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the 2018-19 season, the Virat Kohli-led side stunned Australia beating them 2-1 in the four-match series and later, they repeated the same in the 2020-21 season. In that edition, India was down and out, as the injury ratio piled up. Even so, they managed to pull off a heist, leaving Australia perplexed and as Gabba drubbing became indigestible.
In 2023, Australia travelled to India for revenge but suffered a crushing 1-3 series defeat. They now want to finish the saga and come out victorious as India is due to travel to Australia later in the year. Lyon called it an ‘unfinished business’ and stated that he is extremely hungry to turn things around and bring the trophy back to Australia.
“It’s been 10 years of unfinished business. It’s been a long time. I know I’m extremely hungry to turn things around and make sure we get that trophy back, that’s for sure,” Lyon told AAP.
Australia has plenty of problems to address ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. After David Warner’s retirement, star batter Steven Smith was promoted to the batting order but the veteran couldn’t make the most of the opportunities. He played well in the second Test against West Indies but failed to get the job done. It needs to be seen if Smith opens again or if Australia change their tactics, given India’s bowling prowess.
Workload management is going to be key as well. It will be for the first time when Australia hosts India for a five-match Test series and there will be instances when the pacers may have to take a break. Speaking about that, ace pacer Josh Hazlewood mentioned that he is aiming to play all the matches but if Australia needs backups at any moment, there are plenty of options to choose from.
“There’s a few factors there, but I’m always planning to play all five (Tests). I think with a bowling captain as well, he can be a lot smarter in that regard in terms of maybe throwing the ball to Travis Head for an over here or there and Cameron Green and Mitch Marsh. We’ve got a lot of extra bowlers there as well,” Hazlewood said.
