'My dream of defending 300...' - Nathan Lyon's brutal Gabba reminder when asked about Cheteshwar Pujara's 100th Test

Cheteshwar Pujara-Nathan Lyon (Source: Twitter)

Cheteshwar Pujara, appearing in his 100th in the ongoing match against Australia in Delhi, was expected to have a great outing. However, the veteran was dismissed for a duck by Australia's star Nathan Lyon in the first innings. After a lacklustre performance in the Nagpur Test, Lyon resurrected his team with a 5-wicket haul on Day 2 of the second Test.

Lyon took some key wickets on the day, dismissing Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Pujara, Shreya Iyer, and Srikar Bharat. Pujara's dismissal was arguably the most painful for Indians, given that the batter is playing his 100th Test. In the post-match press conference, Lyon gave a stern response when asked about Pujara's dismissal.

Sunil Gavaskar, India's cricketing legend, backed Pujara to score a century in his 100th Test. Pujara, on the other hand, was unable to open his account in the first innings. When a reporter inquired about the end of Pujara's "dream," Lyon responded with a stern 'Gaba' reminder.

"Well, Gabba was my 100th Test. My dream of defending 300 at the Gabba was also shattered," he said in the presser. "I know it is his 100th Test. Fairytales don't come the way (you) like. But over the years, I have had some unbelievable battles with Pujara. It's been pretty amazing."

I'm still trying to target off stump: Nathan Lyon

Lyon then went into detail about his game plan for the Delhi Test, implying that he intends to make the Indian batters defend.

"Bowling around the wicket in this game, I'm still trying to target off stump. That's my goal. If you understand cricket, you will understand what I am trying to do and trying to get them defending because we know how good the Indian batters are. If I can make them defend, hopefully, I'll create a few chances here and there," he said.

In the meantime, Australia is in trouble, having lost six wickets in the first hour of Day 3 after scoring 61/1 at the end of Day 2.