India has a long top-order: Nathan Lyon disagrees with the term ‘lower-order batters’ for R Ashwin and Axar Patel

Prolific Aussie off-spinner Nathan Lyon believes R Ashwin and Axar Patel should not be termed ‘lower-order batters’ as the duo can perfectly bat in top-six in any team.

The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has seen dominance of off-spinners from both teams. After Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Aussie debutant Todd Murphy produced outstanding show in Nagpur Test, Lyon completed his five-fer in India’s first inning of batting in 2^nd Test in Delhi.

While Lyon rattled India’s batting line-up, R Ashwin and Axar Patel rescued the hosts by once again stitching as the pair added 114-run stand in Delhi. India was once looking in tatters after they were reduced to 100-runs at seven wickets, but Ashwin-Axar pair came to the rescue.

When asked about India’s lower-order chipping in for the second time in the series, Lyon disagreed with the term ‘lower-order’ for Ashwin-Axar. “They are not lower-order batters. Let’s get that clear. Axar and Ash could easily bat in the top-six in a few teams in Test cricket around the world in my eyes. India has a long top-order, let’s just say that,” Lyon said.