Rahul Dravid effusive in his praise for Murphy, Kuhnemann

Rahul Dravid has lavished praise on the Australian spin trio of Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy. According to the Indian head coach, it was the best spin-bowling unit India have faced at home in the last ten years. He felt the Australian tweakers were in the same league as Monty Panesar and Greame Swann, who spun England to a Test series win in India in 2012 by building sustained pressure on the batters through accuracy and guile. Dravid added that the they bowled well and provided a stiff challenge for the hosts during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won 2-1.

While Lyon was arguably the pick of the bowlers for Australia with 22 wickets in four Tests, Murphy and Kuhnemann took to international cricket like a duck to water. They picked up one fifer each and bowled with immense control throughout the series. Lyon, the senior statesman, started the series slowly but found his bearings as the series progressed. The 35-year-old snared a fifer in the second Test in Delhi, while his 11-wicket haul in Indore sealed an emphatic win for the tourists.