NEW DELHI: As veteran Australian off-spinner
Nathan Lyon
entered the 500 club in Test cricket, India's
Ravichandran Ashwin
showered praise on his compatriot on achieving the special feat.
Lyon on Sunday became only the eighth bowler in the history of Test cricket to grab 500 wickets.
On Day 4 of the Perth Test against Pakistan, Lyon dismissed Faheem Ashraf for his 500th wicket in the longest format.
With that, Lyon became the third Australian and second off-spinner after Sri Lanka's Muthiah Muralidaran to take 500 Test wickets.
Ashwin (489 wickets), who himself is on the verge of achieving the same feat, congratulated the Aussie 'GOAT' on his social media handle.
Ahead of the Test series against Pakistan, Lyon had praised Ashwin as well, saying that he sees an unlikely 'coach' in the Indian and has learned a lot from him over the years.
"You look at Ashwin, he's a world-class bowler and somebody I've watched closely from the start of his career," Lyon was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
"We've gone head-to-head many times in different conditions around the world. I've got nothing but respect for Ashwin and the way he's gone about it. I've definitely learned from him. There's an opportunity to learn from the people you play against, and without knowing it he's probably been one of my biggest coaches in a way. It's pretty amazing to see we're both creeping up to that 500 mark, and we'll see where we end up. Hopefully at the end of our career we'll sit down and have a nice feed and a beer and talk about it," Lyon had said.
Both Lyon and Ashwin started their Test careers in the same year in 2011.
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