Nathan Lyon names Virat Kohli and a legendary Indian batsman in his list of top-3 batters he faced

Nathan Lyon, Australia's senior spinner, selected the top batsmen he has faced in his decade-long Test career and explained the strategies for getting them out. Australia will play Pakistan in the Sydney Pink Test on January 3, with the goal of completing a series sweep of the visitors. David Warner will play his final Test match for Australia on home soil.

3 things you need to know

• Nathan Lyon picks the top three batters he has even bowled to
• Lyon has been significantly successful against India in Tests
• Playing for Australia, Lyon has accumulated over 500 Test wickets

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Nathan Lyon names three opposition batters that he deems were tough to bowl at

Lyon, who made a red-ball comeback for Australia in the ongoing three-Test series, spoke on the Sydney Cricket Ground's social media handle and named Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and AB de Villiers the finest players he faced. Lyon was asked to choose one player, but the spinner believes he has faced several greats of the game and chose to name three.

"The best player I have played against, that's a very hard question. I have played against some of the greats of the game. I will give you three (names), they will be Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers," Lyon said.

Lyon also shared the method for removing these batsmen by challenging their defence for an extended period.

"The secret to get them out, something that I struggle to do would be trying to challenge their defence for a long period of time," Lyon said.

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Lyon's record against Kohli, Tendulkar, and De Villiers

In the 23 Test matches between India and Australia, the off-spinner dismissed Kohli seven times. Between 2011 and 2013, Lyon managed to remove the great Sachin Tendulkar four times in six Test matches. The 37-year-old has a strong Test record against India, having taken 121 wickets in 27 Tests. His career-high numbers- 8/50- also came against India. Against De Villiers, though he has had a fairly limited success. Lyon only managed to dismiss AB de Villiers twice in 12 attempts.

In the first Test of the three-match series against Pakistan, the off-spinner joined the rare 500 Test club. After Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, and Anil Kumble, he became only the fourth spinner to accomplish this feat.