"They might sneak in the door" - Dinesh Karthik on India's chances on day 5 of winning the WTC 2023 final
Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik reckoned that the Australians were still heavy favorites to pull off victory heading into day five of the WTC final at the Oval.
As things stand, India are 164-3, with Virat Kohli (44) and Ajinkya Rahane (20) unbeaten at stumps on day four, chasing a mammoth 444 for victory.
Looking ahead to Day 5, Karthik told the ICC:
"I think it's loaded in favor of Australia but India will definitely feel that they've given themselves a chance today. Coming in tomorrow with 280 to get, there is a good chance that if India bats well, they might sneak in the door and that's what they would have wanted out of today. It was very good to watch, very entertaining, the crowd was enjoying and so were all of us."
Former Australian opener and head coach Justin Langer hailed both teams for a sensational display after Australia dominated Day 1 to set up an intriguing final day's play.
"Isn't it great to see Test cricket going into day 5 and it's still on. It's been an amazing Test match. After Australia dominated day 1, the next 3 days have been absolutely brilliant to watch to the point now with Virat Kohli on 44* and Rahane on 20* , they'll just have a tiny little sniff of hope which is exciting for the Test match," said Langer.
If India are to pull off the feat on Day 5, it will be the highest successful run-chase in Test cricket history. While they will take heart from their incredible chase of 328 a couple of years back against Australia in Brisbane, it will still be a tall order to pull off this miraculous chase of 444 at the Oval.
The biggest successful run chase at the venue was 263-9 by England against Australia in 1902.
"I think he was nullified in many ways" - Dinesh Karthik on India's batting against Nathan Lyon
Dinesh Karthik remarked that the pitch at the Oval did not spin as much as expected and that the Indian batters have handled off-spinner Nathan Lyon well so far with a sound defense.
Lyon has picked up only two wickets in the game thus far, albeit with limited bowling. He picked up the key wicket of Rohit Sharma in the second innings when the skipper was looking in great touch.
"I think we're all surprised by how much it's probably turned a little lesser than what we thought. Nathan Lyon bowled well today, definitely better than what he could in the first innings but I think the Indians handled him well for large part of the day," said Karthik.
"They defended him well whether he bowled over the pitch or around the wicket, I think he was nullified in many ways by the solid defense they played but tomorrow is a different day. Will the pitch turn a little more, the ball probably started towards the end so does Mitchell Starc come into the action a lot more tomorrow," he added.
Lyon has often been at his best against India in his illustrious Test career, with 116 wickets in 26 matches. Notably, the New South Wales-born cricketer has dismissed Virat Kohli seven times in their battles in Tests.