Lyon's blockbuster start to hard scrap

Nathan Lyon flings himself across the pitch like he's trying to take a bullet aimed at a president. He completes the catch, tumbles across the Galle square before getting up and running a victory lap. It's about as ethereally wonderful as your first ball in Test cricket can be.

It all started when Lyon's first ball in Test cricket was a wicket. It was not any wicket, it was Kumar Sangakkara's. It was a hard-spinning offbreak that pitched wide of the stumps and found the edge with Michael Clarke hanging on to a diving catch at slip. Later, Lyon dismissed Angelo Mathews when he exposed his leg stump in an attempt to sweep, and was bowled.

Rangana Herath then top-edged a catch to a sweeper while Suraj Randiv smashed a ball off his toes straight into the hands of short midwicket. Then he claimed that caught and bowled, and finished with a barely believable 5 for 34.

As wonderful as that was, almost everything since has been a struggle for Lyon.

Australia had a similar start to this series. In Pune, Australia seemed to have found an Indian team that never played and missed, and only played and edged, when they played at all. It was essentially a magic pixie dream girl moment for the Australians. One that was so bizarre, so captivating and so ultimately surprising, that they were almost watching it happen with a self-deprecating, wisecracking, and ironic monologue. Since then, Australia have fought for every last scrap, and not won a single major battle, while they have managed to stay in the series.

Lyon's career trajectory has been much of the same: small battles won, endless struggle, and one failure from ending at any time. A question on #PoliteEnquiries on Sunday from @thejoshya read, "Don't you think it's time Australia accept the fact that they have one of the best spinners in the world?" The shadow of Shane Warne still looms over Lyon, despite the fact he is his country's all-time greatest wicket-taking offspinner. Despite his decent average or that he has the second-highest wickets for a visiting spinner in India and basically had to learn Test cricket without playing much first-class cricket. Lyon must lay awake at bed at night, thinking: what more do I need to do?

But Lyon doesn't have any big, defining series. He's either pretty good or not that great. Even his big meme, "Nice Garry" is more about Matthew Wade than him. It is something that can haunt him in a country that doesn't really understand offspin as a thing. No matter how much last innings success he has, he's seen as a failure to deliver Test wins. Even in 19 Tests that Australia have won when he has bowled in the fourth innings, he has taken only one five-wicket haul and averaged a decent - but modest considering the conditions - 28.85. He has seven and eight-wicket hauls in India, both in losing causes.

Even before this match, there was some talk that maybe Jackson Bird might come in ahead of Lyon. There are not many players in world cricket who could be dropped two innings after an eight-wicket haul, but Lyon is one of them. And there was talk that if this pitch would help the quicks, Bird might replace Steve O'Keefe or Lyon. If Pune was Australia's absurdist fantasy moment this series, the first innings in Bengaluru was Lyon's. The ball spun the right amount, it bounced dangerously, and Lyon was scarily accurate. But he hasn't been the same since even if since is only two innings.

That could be down to the conditions, the batsmen (read Pujara) using their feet to him far better, or maybe it is as simple as his finger. The callus on your spin finger is a well-earned part of spin bowling. It means you rip the ball, not roll it. And when it opens up, bowling with the same kind of venom in each ball can be tough.

On Sunday, Lyon started like the finger still wasn't working. The first ball was overpitched, and a little wide, with KL Rahul crashing it through the covers. The next ball he turned a single so easily that Lyon looked like a change bowler. Lyon got one more over before disappearing out of the attack; so Steven Smith could bowl the fast men to near exhaustion. Lyon would come back later and would be better, but it was clear that Smith saw Lyon and O'Keefe as support for his quicks, on a pitch where Kuldeep Yadav tormented the Australian batsmen. Lyon and O'Keefe were never used in tandem until the 50th over.

It looked like another fruitless day for Lyon when Wade or Smith shouted down the stump mic: "I like it when he comes down to you". Which seemed desperate considering Cricviz said that Pujara was averaging over 200 when coming down the pitch. But as good as Pujara looked, it was Lyon who took his wicket, not through coming down the pitch, but with bounce. It was bounce which caused Karun Nair's dismissal as well. There was nothing surprising in those wickets; it was Lyon getting bounce on a pitch that most resembled what he bowls on back home. And India were still only four wickets down.

They went on the attack after Josh Hazlewood had been crashed away by Ashwin, who then started feasting on O'Keefe as well. Then Lyon, who had bowled a maiden, was double tapped by Rahane who spooned him over midwicket before crashing away a short ball. India were trying to cash in on what had been brilliant and tight bowling, and in 37 balls they scored seven boundaries. Had such scoring continued for much longer, it would have broken the series for them.

Lyon could have just kept hitting a good line and length, hoping for a bouncy bat-pad. Instead, he tried to think Rahane out. In Bengaluru, he sensed Rahane wanted to come at him, so he gave him a wide ball and sucked him in. Here, he was mixing his pace so that Rahane couldn't sweep, and dictate the length. And then when he had Rahane re-thinking his plan, he went wide and full, the sort of ball that Rahane might have slapped through the covers. Instead, he was back and nervous, and when it didn't spin Smith took a sharp catch. Two overs later, Lyon ripped one past Ashwin, the man he had pretty much outbowled so far this series, and Australia were on top.

Behind the stumps, Wade shouted: "Shown you can do it all over the world Garry, not just a one-trick pony Garry". The bowling team was pumped up and Lyon was at the heart of it.

This wasn't entirely unexpected. He had toiled, not just today, survived, not just today, and adapted his game, not just today. But today, much like Australia, he got something back for all his effort. Is it enough to keep him in the side the next time his form slightly waivers, there is a flirty young legspinner in form, or do they want four seamers? Who knows. And as always for Lyon, and as always for Australia this series, there is much left to do.

The Hollywood beginnings for Lyon's career and Australia's series never continued. Instead, both have to fight for everything they get. Today in Test 67 of however many he will end up playing, and on the second day of the decider, both of them continued to fight. Australia could ask for nothing less from Lyon, even if they sometimes hope for something more. On the third day, they will ask and hope for Lyon's most magical day, the one that wins them India and him the respect he has earned.