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‘It is going to be hard’: Dinesh Karthik on India’s chances to reach WTC final


Dinesh Karthik feels that India’s chances to reach the World Test Championship final is very grim despite the fact that they are at the second position on the table with 99 points out of 168 and an aggregate of 58.93 per cent.

“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,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.

“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,” he added.

India’s grip on qualifying for the WTC final has tightened especially after they avoided defeat in Mirpur and saw South Africa lose to Australia. India has only one more series remaining against Australia, whom they host in February-March. If they win all four matches or 3-0 or even by a 3-1 margin, India will make it second successive WTC final.

Australia is at the top of the WTC chart with 132 points from 168 contested with an aggregate of 78.57 per cent points.

Karthik said Australian spinner Nathan Lyon will be a big threat to India. He said: “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 lot more because of his height and natural variations he has got. But the Indian batters have to step up,” he added.





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