Ashes 2019: Nathan Lyon surpasses Dennis Lillee in elite list for Australia

Nathan Lyon added another accolade to his already illustrious career as the Australia spinner surpassed Dennis Lillee to become the 3rd most successful wicket-taker for his country in the longest format of the sport. Lyon achieved the feat when he dismissed Joe Root on Day 4 of the third Ashes Test match against England in Headingley on Sunday. Root went down the pitch to the off-spinner’s third ball of the day and tried to work it legside. But the ball deflected off his back leg, looped over Australia captain and wicketkeeper Tim Paine, with David Warner taking a superb divng catch at first slip. Currently, Lyon has 356 wickets in 89 Test matches.

Joe Root added just two to his overnight score before he was dismissed for 77 to bolster Australia’s chances of completing an Ashes-clinching win. The end of Root’s 205-ball innings left England 159-4 in the 78th over and still needing a further 200 runs to reach an imposing victory target of 359.

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Only three sides have made more than 300 to win in the fourth innings of a Test at Headingley -- Australia (404-3 in 1948), England (315-4 against Australia, 2001) and the West Indies with 322-5 two years ago.

That England had any chance at all of a win, even a remote one, was remarkable given they had been dismissed for just 67 -- their lowest Ashes total since 1948 -- in the first innings. Another sun-drenched day in Leeds saw England resume on 156-3, with Root 75 not out and Stokes two not out after facing 50 balls on Saturday.

(With agency inputs)