Nathan Lyon has produced the greatest performance of his 65-Test career, grabbing the astonishing figures of 8-50 to bundle India out for 189 late on day one in Bangalore.



Lyon, who didn’t come on to bowl until Saturday’s 22nd over of the second Test, bettered his previous career-best haul of 7-94. He also produced the best figures by a visiting Test bowler in India, and only four Indians have produced better figures in their homeland.

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Australia’s most prolific Test off-spinner bamboozled India’s most potent batsmen, removing Cheteshwar Pujara with the final ball of the morning session. Lyon dismissed Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane after lunch, then cleaned up the tail amid a collapse of 5-25, which ended the hosts’ innings.

Lyon accounted for KL Rahul, who top-scored with 90. He should have dismissed Rahul on 61, but David Warner put down a sharp catch at leg slip. Lyon hasn’t bowled so productively in a Test since spinning Australia to victory against India at Adelaide Oval in 2014, when he grabbed 12 wickets in the match.

“I love challenging myself against the best,” Lyon said. “This is very special … I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. I am very lucky to take eight wickets. Very satisfying to get some reward for the hard work put in. We have got the belief in the team, in that change-room, it is an unbelievable feeling at the moment. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I’ve proven to myself that I can compete at this level and I want to keep doing that.”

Australia will be bullish about the prospect of taking a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series, but they could have restricted India to a much smaller total. In addition to the reprieve handed out by Warner, Peter Handscomb also dropped a difficult chance at short mid-off when Rahul was on 30.

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Australia are 40-o at stumps in their reply, with David Warner – who was dropped on nine – undefeated on 23, and Matt Renshaw with him on 15, in what could be another short Test. Australia, riding high after India’s shambolic collapses of 7-11 and 7-30 in the first Test, will retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy if they win in Bangalore.