Dinesh Karthik gives his assessment of Australian spin attack ahead of Border-Gavaskar trophy

In less than two days, India will be up against the might of the reckoning Aussies as they prepare for a full-blown Test challenge. A series that will play a crucial factor in determining the fate of the WTC finalists has been imparted some serious heat with the exchange of heated words that has left both camps simmering with thrill and eagerness to deliver.

A major factor that will be differentiating between both the sides is their ability to play spin. Given the antiquity of the tracks that has so far been produced by India, Australia will have to rely a lot on their best to navigate through a maze of India’s spinning artists if they are to remain in the hunt.

Similarly, Australia has an ace of their own as they will be unleashing Nathan Lyon upon the Indians. RCB’s Finisher Supreme, Dinesh Karthik believes that the Indians will have to be careful about the seasoned Australian offie but if India are able to make their way through Lyon, it won’t be tough for them to challenge the Australians with a mighty score on the board.

Talking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said, “Our Achilles heel has not been spin bowling but off-spin bowling interestingly. They have a world class off-spinner in Lyon. You also must understand that he will be under a lot of pressure knowing that he will be the key bowler for Australia to steer the ship in which direction it needs to go. One bad session from his part could mean the Test match is moving in a direction against Australia and that’s a lot of pressure to handle.”

The wicket-keeper also recalled Shreyas Iyer ripping him to shreds in a fixture at the CCI. DK added, “Shreyas Iyer literally smacked him in a side game in CCI. When the pressure is there, Lyon will need to stand up. A lot of his temperament and his testament will come to the fore. Even though India hasn’t been playing off-spin well, these matches are going to be in India and we have to trust our ability to play spin which has been part of our heritage and lineage over a period of time.”

Karthik concluded by talking about why the other spinners available for Australia won’t be as effective as Lyon, stating, “We have to understand Ashton Agar hasn’t played too much Test cricket neither has Mitchell Swepson nor Todd Murphy, so a lot has to depend on Lyon to go well. On the other hand, Ashwin has Jadeja and Axar to back him up.”