Australia’s spinner Nathan Lyon dominated on the fourth day as well. In the third day of the series against New Zealand, Lyon had given a glimpse of his spinning prowess by dismissing the experienced batsmen Kane Williamson and Tom Latham. The green wicket of Basin Reserve in Wellington and the seeming conditions were conducive to spin, and Lyon proved his effectiveness by taking the maximum four wickets in New Zealand’s first innings.
Despite the ongoing battle, Lyon added four more wickets today. With his spectacular performance, New Zealand could not last even one session on the fourth day. They were all out for 196 runs in their second innings, resulting in a significant 172-run victory for Australia. With this win, Australia is now leading the two-match Test series 1-0.
Yesterday, after losing the final of the BPL, Aliss Al Islam expressed in the press, “We got the opportunity in the team, but again, we faced defeat.” Aliss, who played for Comilla Victorians in the BPL, went to field against the Sylhet Thunder but suffered an injury to his finger while fielding. He had to bandage two fingers on his left hand.
Regarding Aliss’s injury, the physio of the national team, Bayjedul Islam Khan, mentioned, “Aliss has an MRI done; there is a sprain in the MCP joint of the middle finger of his right hand, and it has swollen up. It may take three weeks to recover from the injury, and that’s why he has been ruled out of the series.”
In this year’s BPL, Aliss played eight matches, taking nine wickets with an economy rate of 7.17. However, due to his finger injury, he couldn’t play crucial matches for Comilla Victorians. Despite this, Aliss received praise for his power-hitting. He scored 199 runs for Comilla at an average of 99.5 and a strike rate of 141.13 in the BPL.
Australia is leaving the field with the joy of victory today, while New Zealand couldn’t manage to last even one session.