Legendary Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batters in international cricket history. The right-handed batter, popular for his aggressive attitude, has earned passionate love from the fans through his incredible batting performances in every cricket format.

Meanwhile, the Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is among the greatest off-spinners in international cricket history. Although he has dominated Test cricket and played very limited white-ball international matches, Lyon still has created special memories in the cricket world. 

So, without any doubt, we have experienced intense rivalries between Kohli and Lyon in Test cricket. Both are always desperate to bring their best to outperform.

Virat Kohli

By scoring 27000 international runs, the right-handed batter Virat Kohli is the fourth-leading run-scorer in international cricket history. With 220+ 50+ scores in his international career, Kohli has recorded the second most 50+ scores in international cricket history. Meanwhile, after the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 international centuries, Kohli is second on the list of most international centuries with 80+ hundreds.

Kohli is among the top 20 run-scorers in Test cricket history with 9000+ Test runs, including 30 centuries with more coming on. 

Nathan Lyon

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon recorded 29 wickets in 29 ODIs and one wicket in two T20Is. However, the off-spinner is among the top 10 leading wicket-takers in Test cricket history. The off-spinner has already crossed his Test wickets tally to 530. Lyon is on the list of the top five Test wicket-takers among the spinners. 

Virat Kohli vs Nathan Lyon Stats in Test Cricket

Test cricket has experienced an epic battle between the right-handed batter Virat Kohli and the off-spinner Nathan Lyon. They have battled 1086 balls, where Kohli scored 565 runs with 49 fours and three sixes, and Lyon dismissed the Indian batter seven times. 

Virat Kohli vs Nathan Lyon Stats in ODI

ODI cricket: In their ODI meeting, clearly Kohli won the battle, as the right-handed batter scored 100 runs in 104 balls against Lyon, and Kohli was never out against Lyon. Kohli hit nine fours and one six off Lyon in his ODI career.  

Kohli vs Lyon Memorable Matchups

2013 Delhi Test India vs Australia

It was the only Test where Lyon dismissed Kohli twice. During India’s first innings, Kohli was trapped for lbw by Lyon for only 1 run. Later in the fourth innings, when India were chasing a 155-run target, Kohli played an important role with 41 runs. However, Lyon ultimately provided a breakthrough for the visitors after trapping Kohli for another successful lbw appeal. Soon, India won that match quite comfortably by six wickets. 

In that Test match, Kohli scored 22 runs off 37 balls against Lyon and lost both wickets. In that entire series, Lyon dismissed Kohli three times.

2014 Adelaide Test India vs Australia

It was one of the greatest Test matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy history, which was famous for Nathan Lyon’s incredible bowling performances vs new captain Virat Kohli’s desperate batting aggression. While Lyon claimed five-wicket hauls in both innings (5/134 and 7/152), including picking up seven wickets in the fourth innings, Kohli scored centuries in both innings (115 and 141) as a stand-in captain in the absence of regular captain MS Dhoni. 

Chasing down the 364-run target in the fourth innings, Kohli’s batting helped the visitors to stay in the game. Indian cricket fans can’t forget the match because their hope was only rising due to Kohli’s inspiring counterpunches. The pressure on the Australian team was clearly visible when Lyon ultimately dismissed Kohli. 

Although India lost that Test by 48 runs, it was a great battle between the two teams. Before losing his wicket, Kohli scored 105 runs off 150 balls against Lyon in that entire Test match (including India’s first innings). 

Virat Kohli vs Nathan Lyon Special Stats

• Lyon holds the joint record, with the former English pacer James Anderson, to dismiss Kohli most times in Test cricket (7 times).

• After Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli became the only second player to score 500 Test runs against Lyon. 

• Lyon dismissed Kohli thrice in 2013.

• Although Lyon has never bowled to Kohli, the off-spinner holds the record for most Test lbw dismissals against Kohli by achieving it three times. 

• Lyon hasn’t dismissed Kohli since the 2018 Melbourne Test. Last time, Lyon dismissed Kohli during the 2018 Perth Test. 

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