SOK spell likened to MJ's Ashes magic

Australia coach Darren Lehmann has compared Stephen O’Keefe’s match-winning spell on day two of the first Test to Mitchell Johnson’s annihilation of England in Adelaide during the 2013-14 Ashes whitewash.

Quick Single: Five things you might have missed in Pune

O’Keefe destroyed India with 6-5 in just 24 balls in the afternoon session in Pune as the hosts lost their last seven wickets for just 11 runs to concede a 155-run first-innings deficit in a match they would eventually lose by 333 runs.

The left-armer snared three wickets in an over to begin the Indian implosion before claiming another three to finish with 6-35, a performance he repeated in the second innings to end with match figures of 12-70, the best display by a touring spinner in the subcontinent.

The blitzkrieg reminded Lehmann of the fire-breathing fast bowler Johnson, who famously claimed 5-12 in 30 balls to almost obliterate England at the Adelaide Oval in November, 2013.

Like O’Keefe, Johnson started his breathtaking spell with three wickets in an over – Ben Stokes, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad, the latter for a golden duck, much to the delight of the heaving crowd in Adelaide.

Having had Graeme Swann caught at slip two overs later, Johnson rounded out the damage by castling long-time foe James Anderson first ball, choosing not to say a word to the outgoing Englishman, who departed with his middle stump flattened.

"I haven’t seen that since Mitchell Johnson in the Ashes with England in Adelaide when he tore them apart,” Lehmann said of O'Keefe's match-defining spell.

"We took 7-11 and that obviously turned the game."

Quick Single: Why O'Keefe fired at last-chance saloon

Lehmann was full of praise for man-of-the-match O’Keefe and his spin twin Nathan Lyon as the pair combined to take all 10 wickets in India’s second innings, the first Australian spinners to do so since Shane Warne and Tim May each claimed five wickets against England at Edgbaston in 1993.

"Twelve-for, 6-35 in both innings is pretty special," Lehmann said when asked whether he thought O’Keefe could back up his stunning first-innings display.

"You always hope don't you, as a player.

"I actually thought Nathan Lyon bowled just as well to be perfectly honest.

"Nathan's been under pressure from a lot of sources throughout the subcontinent, myself included.

"I thought he was outstanding in this game.

"He was brilliant, so both spinners did the job, but Stephen was exceptional getting the rewards."