Murphy 10 to 50 times better than Lyon was on his first India tour: Ashwin

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praises on Australian newcomer Todd Murphy, declaring that the 22-year-old was "10 to 50 times better" than Nathan Lyon was on his maiden India tour in 2013.

Lyon had taken 15 wickets in three Tests during the 2013 Test series in India. Murphy who made his debut in the Nagpur Test played all the four matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, picking 14 wickets at an average of 25.21.

Ashwin has reckoned that Lyon managed to pick the most wickets for Australia only because of the pressure built by other spinners, especially Murphy.

"Nathan Lyon did pick up 20 wickets in this series. However, the pressure was built by other spinners too. Todd Murphy had a sensational debut series. You might wonder what is there to talk about Todd Murphy. This is his first tour to India. I remember many spinners' first tour to India," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"Nathan Lyon came here first in 2013. He went to Sri Lanka before that. Todd Murphy came here 10 to 50 times better than how Nathan Lyon came here on his first Test tour," Ashwin said. "I am not saying that he is a better bowler in terms of quality, skill, or performance. I am talking about his capacity and composure to be able to bowl around the stumps and over the stumps.

"In the Ahmedabad Test, he [Murphy] bowled most of his overs from over the stumps. Until then, he was bowling around the stumps. But from both around and over, he looked equally comfortable. He was able to attack the stumps while bowling from around the wicket as well as over the wicket," he added.

Ashwin explains how Lyon has built his ten-year career

Further, the 36-year-old Indian tweaker has opined that Lyon tries to exploit footmarks created by Mitchell Starc. He added that his Australia counterpart has built his career by bowling superbly on the sixth and seventh-stump line.

"Nathan Lyon's strongest feature is that he uses Mitchell Starc's footmark really well. He bowls the sixth-stump and seventh-stump line really well. That has been his bread and butter. That's how he has built his ten-year career.

"Because in a country like Australia, there won't be much happening for the spinners from the centre of the surface. He has to make things happen from the footholes only. His bowling, his pace, his trajectory and his body position are all attuned to that.

"Whereas Todd Murphy, being the current-generation spinner that he is, is attacking the stumps from over the stumps. He is also bowling from wide of the stumps. He is going from around the wicket and attacking the stumps. And he is also taking the odd ball away. He is not only bowling the fast back-of-the-length delivery but also has an odd slower one. That flight is definitely catching the batter by surprise. It's not that easy to go on the back foot and play him. So a lot of credit to Todd Murphy," Ashwin concluded.