Lyon: Sabbir’s innings reminded me of Virat Kohli

Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon praised Bangladesh middle-order batsman Sabbir Rahman after his commanding half-century during a crucial stage on day one of the second and final Test match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Monday. Lyon dismissed the entire Bangladesh top four and surprisingly, all the wickets were lbws and the quartet were all left-handed batsmen. In the latter stages of the day, Sabbir and Mushfiq were batting confidently but Lyon also broke that partnership in the 82nd over of the game. This is the 11th time Lyon scalped five wickets in Tests. The experienced Aussie compared Sabbir’s knock to the ones played by Indian captain Virat Kohli as the champion batsman often plays attacking cricket even in pressure situations. “Sabbir is a good player. He reminds me of Virat Kohli. He's probably a pretty good role model to have in the sub-continent. But that's only on his person out there and the way he walks around the crease and the shots he's played here. We find he doesn't really want to defend, he wants to take the game on and that's brave cricket. So he batted pretty well,” said Lyon after the day’s play in the port city.

---

Also read: Sabbir, Mushfiq fifties propel Bangladesh

---

“He played some nice shots. He was lucky here and there but you need a bit of luck in cricket. I had a bit of luck with the stumping (of Sabbir), it probably wasn't the best ball I've ever bowled in Test cricket but at the end of the day that's luck, and you've got to go out there and enjoy the game of cricket. He's a good cricketer, we're definitely paying him a lot of respect, that's for sure," he added. Australia faced a long, hard day’s play of Test cricket amid hot and humid conditions after losing the toss and invited to field. Lyon admitted that they rally had to work hard to cope up with the conditions. “That’s up there with the hardest Test match cricket days I’ve ever had. This would be my 69th Test match and I don’t think I’ve been tested like that physically. The pitch was pretty good, to be fair, there’s not much spin there at all. I think I bowled four straight ones early and all hit the pads. (The heat) is just one of those things. This is why we do pre-season. You want to test yourself in the hardest conditions and see how you react,” Lyon explained.

---

Also read: I enjoy batting while being sledged, says Sabbir

---

“I've got no idea what a good score is. We've got to wait until we see both teams bat on it. At the moment we need to go out there and take the four wickets and bowl really well in partnerships like we started off this morning. I think the wicket's going to deteriorate, yeah for sure, but I think I might have spun one ball out of 28 overs [Monday]. There's not much spin there at the moment so it's a good challenge for us spinners to challenge the batters and challenge their defence on a wicket like this. But subcontinent wickets around the world spin when the game goes on so I've got no doubt that this one will,” he added. Lyon said the day ended evenly in favour of both teams and that he is proud of the effort exhibited by the Australian bowlers. “It's pretty even. They played well. Sabbir and the skipper [Mushfiqur Rahim], they batted really well, took the game on, played some brave cricket. You've got to give credit where credit's due. But at the end of the day I was pretty proud of our bowlers' efforts to go out there and keep fighting all the way through to the 90th over. As I said before, (those were) the hardest conditions I've ever had. The wicket's not really doing much, there's not much spin, there's no bounce. So to challenge the Bangladesh batters as much as we could, I thought it was a pretty good day to be honest," he concluded.