Stats: Best bowling figures in a Test inning for an overseas player in India

Nathan Lyon picked up 8 wickets for 50 runs as he bowled one of his finest spells in the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, putting the visitors in a commanding position after they restricted the hosts to a mere 189 runs. In the process, he registered the best bowling spell by an overseas player ever on Indian soil, bettering the previous record held by Lance Klusener with his 8 for 64 achieved in 1996 at Eden Gardens Kolkata.

Lyon was brought into the attack by Steve Smith in the 22nd over and picked up his first wicket with the dismissal of Cheteshwar Pujara just before the stroke of lunch. He got India’s captain plumb in front when Virat Kohli was unable to judge a straight ball and also wasted a review in the process.

The New South Wales off-spinner kept the ball in the good areas around the off stump, and his over spin helped him get sharp turn and bounce from the surface. He was clearly troubling the Indian batsmen, asking the questions ever so often. To add to the batsmen’s miseries, Lyon was mixing his deliveries quite well. While Ashwin was caught surprised by the flighted delivery that turned sharply, it was the flatter one that scalped Wriddhiman Saha.

No one except K L Rahul looked comfortable at the crease as he top-scored for the hosts with 90 runs. There were also some loose shots from Indian players including Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair who both got stumped out.

Also read- Stats: Best Test bowling figures in an innings by an Australian spinner

This spell has given Australia a great opportunity to get a good lead in the first innings and take a 2-0 lead in the series and to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, on the other hand, India would want to change thins in the second innings.

Last time an Australian had picked up 8 wickets in an innings was when Jason Krejza picked up 8 for 215 against India back in 2008 in Nagpur.

Here is the list of overseas bowlers with best innings figures against India in India:

(Stats updated till March 5, 2017)