Nathan Lyon surpasses longstanding Shane Warne record as Sri Lanka fall apart in first Test

Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon has broken a longstanding Shane Warne record as Australia capitalise on woeful Sri Lanka.

Nathan Lyon has officially the most wickets of any Australian cricketer against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, surpassing the late-great Shane Warne’s record as Australia continue to dominate the hosts in the first Test.

After rain washed out the final two sessions on day three, Australia knew they had to topple Sri Lanka and fast on Saturday and that is exactly what they did.

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The Sri Lankans, who started the day at 5-136, lost 5-9 in an almighty collapse in just 45 minutes on day four, to finish the first innings 489 runs ahead, and unsurprisingly Australia enforced the follow-on.

It marked Australia’s biggest first-innings lead since 2003, in a match where former Aussie opener Matthew Hayden scored a then world-record 380 against Zimbabwe in Perth.

And while Aussie spinner Matt Kuhnemann’s five-wicket haul stole the show, Lyon quietly broke an iconic record.

His three-wicket first innings haul moved his total wickets against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka to 38 wickets, the most by an Australian, surpassing Warne.

Nathan Lyon has officially taken more wickets against Sri Lanka than the late-great Shane Warne. Image: Getty

And if that wasn’t enough, Lyon took another in the second innings, claiming Dinesh Chandimal’s wicket for incredibly the second time in the same session, with the dismissals coming less than two hours apart.

But the fact Lyon wiped Warne from the Australia-Sri Lanka Lanka history books won’t go down well with locals.

While Warne famously struggled with elements like the food when travelling to the subcontinent, he eventually fell in love with the region.

Among his contributions to Sri Lanka, Warne helped raise $1 million to help rebuild the stadium in Galle following the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in 2004.

He also linked up with Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan following the natural disaster to help lift the spirits of the cricket-loving nation.

“I just wanted to help and I said to Murali, what can I actually do?” Warne said in an interview with Channel 9’s 60 Minutes at the time.

Shane Warne took 37 wickets against Sri Lanka. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

And to this day, Sri Lanka still loves Warney, with a large banner with the words “Shane Warne Stand” seen on the historic Galle Fort that overlooks the stadium on day 1 of the first Test.

By day two, the sign had moved to the small stand next to the Galle Cricket Club, on the western side of the ground but it showed the love for the Aussie spinner.

Following the banner going up Warner’s son Jackson showed his appreciation for the gesture.

 “Hello everybody, I just wanted to quickly share this photo with you guys,” the legend’s son, Jackson Warne, said in a video to Instagram.

“This is a sign in honour of dad that the Sri Lankans have made for the Australia versus Sri Lanka Test.

“This is their first Test match in Galle … just wanted to share it with you guys because I think it’s awesome.

“So thank you to the Sri Lankans that have done this, it looks amazing.”

Originally published as Nathan Lyon surpasses longstanding Shane Warne record as Sri Lanka fall apart in first Test