ENG vs AUS: "Australia Have A Chance Of Making It 3-1" - Dinesh Karthik Backs Pat Cummins-Led Team To Seal Series

Veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik predicted that Australia would secure the series victory by 3-1 in the ongoing five-match Ashes 2023 series. He feels that Australia have a slight edge over England to win the fifth and final Test of the marquee series.

The Ben Stokes-led team set a target of 384 runs in the final innings. In response, openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja added an unbeaten 135-run partnership. Warner scored 58 runs, and Khawaja hit 69 runs before Day 4 of the game was stopped by rain.

Also read: IND vs WI: Aakash Chopra Urges India To Keep The Same Lineup For 3rd ODI Despite Sanju Samson, Axar Patel’s Poor Outing

I Back Australia – Dinesh Karthik

Speaking to Sky Sports, Dinesh Karthik highlighted that the Australian players will be motivated to make a strong impact as they are playing their last Ashes in England.

“Australia have a chance of making it 3-1 and that’s where the pressure kicks in. I back Australia and I say that because there are people playing their last Ashes and they will want to make their mark.

The last two games haven’t exactly gone to plan for them and here is a chance to make amends and get retribution. I am going 51 per cent Australia, 49 per cent England,” Karthik said on Sky Sports Cricket.

Veteran cricketers such as David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood are unlikely to travel to England for the Test series after four years.

Also read: ENG vs AUS: “I’m A Bit Emotional And A Bit Surprised” – Alastair Cook On Stuart Broad’s Retirement Decision

The Final Test Evenly Poised at The Oval

England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who announced his retirement, received a guard of honour from Australian players for his last innings in Tests. Broad smashed six off his last ball in international cricket. James Anderson was trapped in front of the stumps by Todd Murphy in the next over.

England will be aiming to level the series at 2-2 by winning the final Test, with their bowlers expected to get assistance from the surface due to favourable weather conditions on the final day. Meanwhile, Australia will be determined to secure their first Test series win in England since 2001.

Also read: IND vs WI: Dinesh Karthik Punches Rohit Sharma And Rahul Dravid In The Face With Ravichandran Ashwin Jibe For WTC Final