Ravichandran Ashwin congratulates Nathan Lyon with 'G.O.A.T.' tag

Nathan Lyon picked up 5 wickets against Pakistan in the first test match.

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has congratulated Nathan Lyon for getting to 500 test wickets milestone in his career. Nathan Lyon breached the 500 test wickets mark in the first test against Pakistan in Perth. The pair share an intense rivalry on the pitch as well as camaraderie off the pitch. They both had a race to 500 test wickets which Australia won and Ashwin can soon join him as he is just 11 wickets away from the mark. 

Pakistan all-rounder Faheem Ashraf became Nathan Lyon’s 500th test victim. Lyon has become 3rd Australian bowler to go past 500 wickets mark after Shane Warne (708) and Glenn Mcgrath (563). Nathan Lyon completed the milestone in 123 test matches. Lyon could have achieved this feat in the Ashes series against England played in July-August 2023, but a freak injury ruled him out of the final three test matches of the series.

Ravichandran Ashwin congratulates Nathan Lyon

Ravichandran Ashwin made a congratulatory tweet and used ‘G.O.A.T.’ emojis. Ashwin tweeted, “8th bowler and only the 2nd off-spinner in history to pick 500 test wickets. Nathan Lyon congratulations mate.” He added  ‘G.O.A.T.’ emojis at the end of his tweet. Nathan Lyon’s Australian teammates also calls him ‘G.O.A.T.’ inside the dressing room. Lyon’s 231 wickets out of 500 came against only two opponents, India and England. 

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin currently stands behind Nathan Lyon in the leading wicket-takers list with 489 wickets in 94 test matches and he will have an opportunity to become the 9th bowler to take 500 test wickets. Ashwin will be playing two test matches against South Africa starting from Boxing Day at Supersport Park in Centurion and then a 5-match test series against England in India starting from next month. 

Anil Kumble is the only Indian bowler with more than 500 test wickets. Kumble finished his career as the leading wicket-taker for India with 619 test wickets. James Anderson recently left behind Anil Kumble and went on to become third third-highest wicket-taker on the list. Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidaran is leading the chart with 800 test wickets, while Shane Warner is the second leading wicket-taker with 708 test wickets. 

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