'Kohli, Sachin and...': Lyon names best players he has played against

NEW DELHI: Australian

Nathan Lyon

is one of the finest off-spinners in the current lot and troubles the world's best batters with his deceptive turn. The 36-year-old veteran recently became the eighth bowler to complete 500 wickets in

Test cricket

.
After outclassing some of the top batters, Lyon selected the best batsmen he has faced in his illustrious decade-long Test career.

He also disclosed the strategies and tactics he employs to dismiss these players.
When asked on Sydney Cricket Ground's social media handle to name the best player he has played against, Lyon instead chose to pick three players and said that

Virat Kohli

,

Sachin Tendulkar

and

AB de Villiers

the best players he has played against.

"The best player I have played against, that's a very hard question. I have played against some of the greats of the game. I will give you three (names), they will be Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers," Lyon said.
Lyon also disclosed that the key to dismissing these batsmen lies in consistently testing their defensive skills over an extended period.
"The secret to get them out, something that I struggle to do would be trying to challenge their defence for a long period of time," Lyon said.

The off-spinner claimed Virat Kohli's wicket on 7 occasions in the 23 Test matches played between India and Australia. Additionally, Lyon managed to dismiss the legendary Sachin Tendulkar 4 times in 6 Test matches from 2011 to 2013.

Lyon's numbers suggest that he loves playing against India as he claimed 121 wickets in 27 Test matches. He achieved his career-best figures of 8/50 against India in Bengaluru.
Lyon succeeded in dismissing AB de Villiers only twice in 12 occasions.