Ravindra was unbeaten on 56 off 94 balls as New Zealand ended Day 3 on 111/3 after being set a challenging target of 369 by the Aussies. Lyon dismissed Tom Latham (8) and Kane Williamson (9) cheaply, while Will Young (15) fell to Travis Head. But Ravindra ensured that the Kiwis remained in with a slim chance of chasing the target. They need a further 258 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Speaking after the end of the day, Lyon praised Ravindra, who has so far hit eight fours and a six in his innings, and said, “You got to give respect and credit where credit's due, I thought Rachin and Daryl played superb innings there. Rachin seems like a really good player, first time I have bowled to him. Watched a lot of him during the World Cup and he's going to be a superstar. He played very well there.”
The veteran cricketer added that he wasn’t surprised to see surfaces in New Zealand aiding spin, referring to Glenn Phillips’ impressive performance on Day 3 of the Test match. Phillips picked a five-wicket haul as New Zealand bowled out Australia for 164 runs in their second innings.
“Great day of Test cricket. I am a big fan when the ball spins obviously. I thought Glenn bowled pretty well to take five wickets, hats off to him. Pretty good day. (Surprised to see spin in New Zealand?) No, not after watching that Test against South Africa. When they left Mitch Santner out, I was pretty surprised. I am not sure where that Test was but I was at home licking my lips,” Lyon added.
Earlier, the lower-order batter proved to be Australia’s top-scorer in the second innings, scoring a valuable 41 runs after coming in as a nightwatchman on Day 2. Cameron Green scored 34, while Head and Usman Khawaja contributed 20s. For New Zealand, apart from Phillips, Matt Henry claimed three wickets and Tim Southee two.
If the Kiwis score a further 258 runs, they will register a Test win over Australia for the first time since 2011.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
