Nathan Lyon confident of victory in First Test against Lankans

In spite of Nathan Lyon reaching his 200th Test wicket, against the Sri Lankans, the Aussies have somewhat lost control over proceedings against the Sri Lankans in the first Test at Pallekele. Some splendid batting from Kusal Mendis saw the latter take the game away from the grasp of the Australians as the 21-year old registered his maiden Test century. Moreover, the fact that he remained unbeaten saw the hosts surge ahead in the lead.

However, Lyon has stated that he was optimistic about chasing the lofty target set by the Lankans, stating that Test cricket was all about being able to bounce back into the scheme of things and gain control of the match once more.

“We will look to chase down whatever they set us,” he said in the press conference on Thursday (July 28). “It has been proven today (Thursday), if you have the game, a simple batting plan, there are no demons out there. You can score runs out there. That’s one big positive – it’s been proven we can score runs.”

“We have missed our half chances,” he added. “It’s been a tough day for the Australian bowlers but the good thing about Test cricket is we will bounce back tomorrow and look forward to taking the new ball and, hopefully, taking some early wickets and then get batting.”

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Speaking about the injury to Steve O’Keefe, Lyon said that it was indeed a big loss for the side. “To see him injure himself, go off the field and for Australia to lose a vital member of our bowling attack, it’s a pretty big loss for us,” Lyon said. “To lose someone like (Steve), a quality bowler on a wicket like that – a couple are spinning, a couple is sliding straight on – he is very talented in these conditions, so it was a big loss.

“Injuries happen in cricket. As a bowling unit, we have got to bounce back and pull together and fill in for him,” he added.