He could have been forgiven for tearing out what remained of his thinning hair in the first two sessions, but Nathan Lyon finished a dramatic final day in Adelaide as the hero after bowling Australia to a famous first-Test victory.
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Lyon careered around the outfield of Adelaide Oval with his arms outstretched after taking the last Indian wicket, his 12th in a match dominated by batsmen, after Brad Haddin whipped off the bails to stump Ishant Sharma.
Haddin, with the added pressure of marshalling the bowlers and fielders in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke, was excellent behind the stumps and is likely to lead for the remainder of the series.
The last day in Adelaide was played on a knife's edge but Australia won by 48 runs with 11 overs left in the day to seize a one-nil series lead. Lyon collected 7-152 and was crowned man of the match for his efforts, having also bagged five wickets in the first innings.
He did what he could not manage against South Africa in Adelaide in 2012. Only two Australian off-spinners (Hugh Trumble and Monty Noble) have taken more than Lyon's 127 Test wickets but he has been criticised for his lack of bite in the fourth innings of matches.
He said after stumps his confidence had never wavered. "I certainly believed and I'm going to keep on believing."
His was the defining bowling performance in a match that will also be remembered for the centuries scored in both innings by David Warner and Virat Kohli.
The acting Indian captain was brilliant in defeat, combining spirit and skill to make 141 - his highest Test score - before Mitchell Marsh held onto a nervy outfield catch off the bowling of Lyon. Kohli slumped over his bat in disbelief as the Australians celebrated.
The touring side was set a target of 364 to win on the final day when Clarke declared before play.
"The boys were outstanding," Clarke said. "They deserve a lot of credit for the way they hung in and kept trying to win the game.
"That's the one thing that pleases me most about this Australian team. They're not scared of losing, they're willing to risk losing to try and win and I think they showed that today.
"I thought if India were good enough to make 360 today they deserved to win. I thought it would take a couple of unbelievable innings and the way Vijay and Virat were going they were on their way."
The Australians had to be patient to open up the Indian tail, but when they did the wickets came in a rush. Two wickets came in the first session, and none in the second as Kohli combined with Murali Vijay for a partnership of 185.
Tensions built as umpire Marais Erasmus turned down appeal after appeal from Lyon, who was half a chance to strain a muscle with his imploring appeals. Erasmus had a bad day behind the stumps, but both sides were on the end of umpiring mistakes. At last, Lyon was rewarded in the final session.
He changed direction, coming around the wicket, and should have had Kohli lbw for 83. Then he spun a ball into the pads of Vijay for 99.
"It confirms to him that he's a match winner," Clarke said of Lyon's effort to shrug the monkey off his back.
"It's experience, just playing and living the roller-coaster ride of international sport, going through the ups and downs and feeling the disappointment when you don't produce the result you want. But then inside knowing that you can do it."
India lost their last eight wickets for 73 runs but could not be accused of folding meekly in this Test, having fought back from a horror first day to post 444 in the first innings in response to Australia's 517. They were bowled out for 315 in the second.
Kohli led from the front with the bat and his fighting instincts seemed to rub off on his teammates, adding to the intrigue over whether MS Dhoni will take back the reins for the second Test, starting on Wednesday.
The Australians will know they are in a contest for the rest of the series and will tempted to freshen up their attack by adding the towering Josh Hazlewood at the Gabba.
Peter Siddle bowled only nine overs in the second innings and while he was inconvenienced by illness in the first, he was the least threatening of the local seamers.
Mitchell Johnson struck as soon as he took the second new ball to hasten India's demise, having also captured the wicket of opener Shikhar Dhawan early in the day. Replays showed the ball had brushed Dhawan's shoulder on the way to Haddin, but he was given out caught behind.
Vijay should have been out lbw on 24 and gave a chance on 85, when Marsh dropped a sharp chance at short cover.
From 26 targets of 364 or more set in Adelaide Tests before this match, there had been 21 wins, all by the bowling side, and five draws. No team had successfully chased a score that high to win. India at least made Australia sweat.
smh.com.au
