Had Rishabh Pant been there, he wouldn't have spared Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann: Danish Kaneria

Australia are on the brink of winning the third Test of ongoing India vs Australia series as they need just 76 runs to win going into the Day 3. After the Kangaroos got a healthy lead of 88 runs earlier in the day, they bundled out India for 163 courtesy of Nathan Lyon who picked up 8/64 in 23.3 overs. India have been troubled by Aussie spinners throughout the Test as Matthew Kuhnemann picked up 5/16 in first innings.

Commenting on India’s batting woes against spin, former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria said that India is missing Rishabh Pant in the Indore Test as he would have dominated Lyon and Kuhnemann with his attacking approach.

Pant is currently recovering from the injuries he sustained in a horrific accident in December 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter will reportedly take over a year to return back to the cricket field. Kaneria said that Pant wouldn’t have spared Lyon and Kuhnemann by using his feet and smashing them all over the park.

"If you would ask Rishabh Pant how to bat against these spinners, he would tell you to use your feet, get to the pitch of the ball, and smash the ball a long way. Had he been there, he wouldn't have spared Lyon and Kuhnemann. He would have forced them to change their lengths by attacking them. Indian batters have been disappointing," Kaneria was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

India could have batted properly and scored 250-300 in their first innings: Danish Kaneria

The former spinner further said that Indian batters were disappointing and could’ve easily scored 250-300 had they applied themselves on the pitch.

"India could have batted properly and scored 250-300 in their first innings. But their unnecessary stroke play has now put Australia in the ascendancy and I feel there's an 80 percent chance that Australia will win this game now," he explained.

Meanwhile, India have lost just two Tests at home in the last 10 years and if Australia manages to win the third Test on Day 3, they will qualify for the final of the World Test Championship. India need to win three Tests in the ongoing series to qualify for the WTC final on their own otherwise they will have to rely on the results of New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Test series.

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