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ADELAIDE: A little over a year ago, Nathan Lyon was an Adelaide Oval groundsman watching from the sidelines as Australia crashed to an innings defeat on their way to a humiliating Ashes series defeat.
On Friday at the same ground, he took three wickets for 57, including what could be final dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar in a test on Australian soil, to put his country on the brink of a 4-0 series sweep over India.
The 24-year-old, the latest in a long line of spinners tried out by Australia since the retirement of Shane Warne five years ago, agreed that it had been quite a surreal turnaround.
“It's been a different side of the fence enjoying the test match rather than sitting on the roller watching it,” he told reporters.
“It's been a fantastic experience playing in front of the home crowd and I've enjoyed every moment of it.”
Lyon only made his first class debut in February last year after impressing the previous month in Australia's domestic Big Bash Twenty20 tournament.
The offspinner did not have to wait long for his test debut on the tour of Sri Lanka last August and his return to the Adelaide Oval was his 10th appearance for his country in the longer form of the game.
Tendulkar was not the only famous name to fall to Lyon on Friday although he admitted that the ball that induced stand-in India captain Virender Sehwag to hole out at cover was not a special delivery.
“Sehwag? it was a full toss,” he said.
“Probably wasn't my best ball but I'm not going to call him back, that's for sure.
“Ricky Ponting came up to me just before that ball and said 'do him in the air' so I was pretty happy with it.”
There was another surreal moment after Lyon had dismissed VVS Laxman when Australia put nine fielders close in around nightwatchman Ishant Sharma.
“To have that many fielders around the bat was something I'd never had before except in backyard cricket,” Lyon said. “It didn't work but we'll give it another crack another time.”
Lyon's three wickets on Friday doubled his tally in his three matches in the series despite Adelaide being the only one going to five days, when a spinner would be expected to play a big role.
“I felt I bowled pretty well the whole summer,” he said.
“It's just good to be able to contribute to what will hopefully be a team victory.
“I can't see it being too bad of a wicket (tomorrow), it's still a good wicket to bat on when the ball's in the middle.
There's plenty of rough for the spinners so hopefully I can play a role.”
