When Nathan Lyon was taken out of the attack after just two overs on the fourth morning in Wellington, New Zealand, as far off as their target of 369 remained, would have been forgiven for thinking the momentum was theirs.
Instead, the Australian off-spinner instantly returned at the other end, the source of the majority of his wickets on a turning Basin Reserve surface this Test, promptly taking two wickets in the over to all but snuff out any remaining Black Cap hopes of a come-from-behind win.
Half-centurion Rachin Ravindra top-edged a cut to Cameron Green at point, surprised by extra bounce; three balls later, wicketkeeper Tom Blundell gave catching practice to Travis Head under the helmet at short leg. And like that, the Test was in Australia’s keeping.
Starting the day with two of New Zealand’s three wickets to fall on Day 3, Lyon would finish with six in total – his two early scalps part of a run of three in eight balls that ended with Glenn Phillips being trapped plumb LBW – in his latest dominant fourth-innings performance, to steer the visitors to an eventually commanding 172-run victory, a 1-0 series lead over the Black Caps, and a seventh consecutive Test triumph over their Trans-Tasman rivals.
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