Australia spinner Nathan Lyon on Saturday achieved a rare Test cricket feat. In the 1st Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, Lyon dismissed Dinesh Chandimal twice in the same session on Day 4. At 10:13 AM local time, Lyon trapped Chandimal LBW, and after Australia enforced the follow-on, he got the better of him again at 12:03 PM. Responding to Australia’s 654/6 declared, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 165 with Chandimal (72) top-scoring for the hosts. Australia eventually won the game by an innings and 242 runs.
Lyon is only the sixth bowler to dismiss a batter twice in the same session. Before him, Alec Bedser (Wazir Mohammad, 1954), Keith Boyce (Alan Knott, 1973), Irfan Pathan (Mohammad Rafique, 2006), Graeme Swann (Salman Butt, 2010) and Prabath Jayasuriya (Lorcan Tucker, 2023) had achieved the feat as well.
Lyon also became the highest overseas wicket-taker on Sri Lankan soil, surpassing India’s Ravichandran Ashwin, who took 38 wickets in the Island nation.