Big game hunter enters the Lyon cage

Batting kingpin Virat Kohli turned Lyon tamer in an extraordinary practice session at the SCG.

Virat Kohli prepares for Nathan Lyon at the SCG. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Batting kingpin Virat Kohli turned Lyon tamer yesterday at the SCG.

The Indian master showcased why he’s the most dominant matchwinner in world cricket with an extraordinary improvised personal training session.

Having already faced the ­Indian bowlers in a comprehensive net, Kohli then dirtied his hands to create a replica of what it might be like to face Australian spinner Nathan Lyon on a wearing day-five pitch with a Test match on the line.

Using the bowlers’ footmarks at the opposite end of the nets to act as the rough Lyon would be aiming for in Adelaide next week, Kohli got to work.

He first got down on hands and knees to move the netting out of the way and then hammered three stumps into the ground in the green grass to the left of the popping crease, and took guard.

Kohli had India’s throw-down specialists bowl him Lyon-like off-spinners in a bid to leave no stone unturned before his side launch their summer assault on December 6.

It was a mesmerising display of why Kohli is the best and why his hunger for world dominance has no bounds.

There was a time when ­Indian batsmen thought contemptuously of finger spinners.

They raised their eyebrows as if it was milk and honey to them, having forged their skills on turning pitches in the subcontinent.

But Kohli’s efforts to plan for Australia’s greatest-ever off-spinner shows they don’t underestimate the Australian.

Lyon averages a very decent 33 with the ball against India, with 64 wickets in 14 Tests. The man they call “The GOAT” has dismissed Kohli five times in 25 innings.

Many now believe Lyon rivals Indian Ravi Ashwin as the premier off-spinner in the world, simply because he can fire in all conditions.

Ashwin is an all-time great Steve Waugh once described as the “Bradman of bowlers”.