Nathan Lyon surpasses legendary Kapil Dev to enter elusive top-10 club in Test history
His tally of 436 wickets in 109 appearances for Australia, is now the fifth-best tally by a spinner after Muttiah Muralidaran (800), Warne (708), Anil Kumble (619) and India's R Ashwin (442).
Two days after equalling Australia legend Shane Warne's magnificent Test record and going past New Zealand great Sir Richard Hadlee, Australia spinner Nathan Lyon went past the legendary Kapil Dev to enter an elusive top-10 club in Test history.
Lyon achieved the feat en route to Australia's remarkable 10-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the series in Galle.
Lyon picked his 20th career five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Test, which saw him equal Warne's record for most fifer by a visiting spinner in Asia (9). En route to his 5 for 90, Lyon also went past Hadlee in the all-time wicket-taking list to stand in the 12th spot.
In the second innings, Lyon continued his dominance to finish with 4 for 31 in 11 overs as Australia bundled Sri Lanka for just 113. With the figure, Lyon went past Sri Lanka spin wizard Rangan Herath (433) and the legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev (434) in the all-time wicket-taking list to take the 10th spot.
His tally of 436 wickets in 109 appearances for Australia, is now the fifth-best tally by a spinner after Muttiah Muralidaran (800), Warne (708), Anil Kumble (619) and India's R Ashwin (442). It is also the fourth-best among active bowlers after James Anderson (651), Stuart Broad (549) and Ashwin.
Lyon also joined Warne in an elite 100-wicket club. His tally of 101 wickets is now the most by a visiting spinner in Asian soil.
Talking about the game, Australia spinners - Lyon, Mitchell Swepson and Travis Head - who picked all 10 wickets between themselves, helped the visitors set a target of just five runs.
Australia openers took just 4 balls to wrap it up on Friday as David Warner smashed a boundary and a six. Australia hence took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
