'It was absolutely brilliant': Australia spinner Nathan Lyon defends Ahmedabad Test pitch

Veteran off-spinner points to seaming wickets where teams are routinely bowled out for low scores

India celebrate the wicket of England batsman Zak Crawley during Day 2 of the third Test at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on Thursday, February 25. India won the match by 10 wickets. Sportzpics for BCCI

England's Zak Crawley is bowled by Axar Patel of India. Sportzpics for BCCI

Ravichandran Ashwin of India celebrates taking his 400th Test wicket. Sportzpics for BCCI

Ravichandran Ashwin of India celebrates the wicket of EWngland batsman Ollie Pope. Sportzpics for BCCI

Axar Patel of India celebrates the wicket of England batsman Jonny Bairstow. Sportzpics for BCCI

Rohit Sharma hit the winning six for India. Sportzpics for BCCI

England captain Joe Root celebrates the wicket of Inda batsman Washington Sundar. Sportzpics for BCCI

Joe Root picked up five wickets for just eight runs to dismiss India for 145 in their first innings in the third Test in Ahmedabad. Sportzpics for BCCI

England celebrate the wicket of Washington Sundar. Sportzpics for BCCI

Jack Leach of England celebrates the wicket of Rohit Sharma in Ahmedabad. Sportzpics for BCCI

England celebrate Washington Sundar's dismissal. Sportzpics for BCCI

England celebrate the wicket of Rishabh Pant. Sportzpics for BCCI

Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon has defended Ahmedabad's spin-friendly pitch where India thumped England inside two days of the day-night third Test.

Several former England players questioned the suitability of the pitch after 30 wickets fell in five sessions in what was the shortest completed Test since 1935.

Ashwin launched an angry defence of the track on Saturday citing similar batting collapses in recent day-night Tests, saying batsmen were still not used to the pink-ball novelty.

His Australian counterpart Lyon was thrilled with the turn and irked by the criticism of the pitch that offered it.

"We play on seaming wickets around the world and get bowled out for 47, 60. Nobody ever says a thing [about the pitch]," Lyon was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.

"But as soon as it starts spinning, everyone in the world seems to start crying about it. I don't get it. I'm all for it, it was entertaining."

The 33-year-old, a former pitch curator himself, said he was up all night watching the match.

"It was absolutely brilliant. I'm thinking about bringing that curator out to Sydney."

He was also amused by England's decision to field a pace-heavy attack on a spinners' paradise with Jack Leach as their only specialist spinner.

The selection blunder was all the more evident as part-time spinner and skipper Joe Root went on to claim his maiden five-wicket haul.

"The best thing about this Test is that England went in with four seamers," Lyon said.

"That will do me. I don't need to say any more."

Lyon's views echoed that of Ashwin, who hit back at claims that the Ahmedabad pitch was not a good surface as it assisted the spinners.

"What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day, then bat well, then spin on the last two days? Come on, who makes all these rules? We need to get over it," Ashwin said.

The India spinner had stated that discussions about the pitch were gettimng out of hand.

"I've said this in the past, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the fact is that talk about the surface is getting out of hand," he said.

"Why would you talk about the surface time and again? Has there been any instance where the surface has been spoken about in any other country? I find it very funny that when they speak about the surface, it is immediately quoted all over the press.

"When we went to New Zealand, two Test matches were over in a total of five days. Nobody quoted it. In South Africa Virat [Kohli, India captain] said he was not there to talk about the pitch. That's how we're taught to play cricket."