Watching footages of Ravi Ashwin's bowling helped me a lot, says Nathan Lyon

Australia’s premier off-spinner Nathan Lyon had a decent outing with the ball on the opening day of their four-day practice game against Pakistan A at ICC Academy in Dubai. the off-spinner registered a five-wicket haul as hosts finished the day with 247 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets.

Australia are all set to feature in a two-match Test series against Pakistan in UAE which begins on October 7. The off-spinner holds the key for the visitors as the leader of their bowling attack. It will be a task in hand to overcome his failures from the previous tour in 2014 wherein he could only manage three wickets in Australia’s 0-2 defeat against the hosts.

Reassessed my game in the sub-continent: Lyon

The 30-year old, who enjoyed success in his last tour to sub-continent against India, looked much confident after beginning the tour on a high. “Taking five wickets obviously helps but I think I’ve really worked hard for the past 24 months or a little bit more than that, really on my subcontinent game,” Nathan Lyon was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

He mentioned the change in his approach of playing in these spin-friendly conditions and how watching the videos of Ravi Ashwin and others have helped him reassess his game in the sub-continent. “I’ve looked at a lot of footage of Ashwin and all those guys, how they bowl over here and I’ve had to reassess with the way I approach. I’m happy with where I am at the moment, I’m feeling very confident, the ball is coming out of my hand really nice.”

Need to do the basics right

Lyon reckons the need of doing the basics right and trying not to complicate things is the best way to tackle tough conditions. He relishes the challenge of playing on spin-friendly pitches and past experiences have helped him get better accustomed to the dynamics of the game in this part of the world.

“Good conversations, open conversations which are handy. We really tried to nail down the basics, doing the basics really well and just trying to keep it simple, to be honest. A lot of guys can come over here and complicate things in the subcontinent. From my past experiences, that’s one big message – doing the basics really well, enjoy the challenge and just embrace it. But it’s going to come down to bowling well in partnerships throughout this Test series,” he added.

[interaction id=”5baf45bcb2ce12980ad8c200″]

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.