IND vs AUS: "They Have To Find A Way To Tackle Off Spin" - Dinesh Karthik Warns Team India Of Potential Threat To Their WTC Final

Dinesh Karthik feels Australia would be relying heavily on  Nathan Lyon to expose Indian batters, who have faced difficulty while going against the off-spinners. In a Test series against India, Australia hasn’t triumphed there in over 20 years. Furthermore, Australia hasn’t been able to defeat India in a Test series at home or away since 2015.

India defeated Bangladesh 2-0 away from home to get off to a strong start in their quest to qualify for the World Test Championship final. But against Australia, the other side with a strong chance of reaching the WTC final, they will play all four of their remaining Test matches at home. To get to the WTC final, India must win at least three games and ideally avoid any losses.

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It Is Going To Be An Uphill Task For India: Dinesh Karthik

However, given that they must win at least three Test matches and that Australia’s greatest spinner Nathan Lyon bowls off-spin, experienced Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik still believes that India would have a difficult time making it to the WTC final.

“I think it is going to be a hard one. I really think it is going to be an uphill task for India. To win three out of four Tests is never easy. That would mean playing to our strengths and assuming that Australia’s weakness against spin will come through. But we have also not played off spin very well so it is a catch-22 situation for India,” said Dinesh Karthik on Cricbuzz.

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Indian Batters Have To Step Up: Dinesh Karthik

India, according to Dinesh Karthik, has the edge when it comes to bowling since they have access to a variety of excellent spinners, whereas Australia just has Lyon.

“They have to find a way to tackle off-spin. Good thing is that Australia have just one spinner that they bank on. Whoever is the second spinner, whether it be Ashton Agar or Adam Zampa can be targetted.

“For the moment, we should bank on the fact that we have three quality spinners who on turning tracks will be a handful to deal with. On a turning track, I would bank on Axar Patel a lot more because of his height and the natural variations he has got. But the Indian batters have to step up,” said Karthik.

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