India are the front-runners to win Cape Town Test as their batting has been more solid: Dinesh Karthik

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has backed his countrymen to clinch the third and final Test in Cape Town and win their maiden Test series on South African soil. The three-match affair is currently poised at 1-1 and all it boils down to the final battle at the Newlands. The high-voltage encounter gets underway on January 11 and India will be raring to conquer the final frontier.

Notably, India clinched the opening clash by 113 runs before South Africa bounced back and recorded a seven-wicket win in the succeeding contest. The battle between both these teams has more or the less been neck-to-neck so far. Hence, it would be interesting to see how the Cape Town match pans out. Speaking on the same, Karthik has backed Team India to get the glory.

India have the potential to post 400 runs: Dinesh Karthik

“I genuinely believe India are the front-runner (to win the third test) for many reasons. I know no Asian Team has defeated South Africa in Cape Town and I also have some bad memories from the 2007 tour. However, India are the front-runners because their batting has been more solid,” said Karthik on Cricbuzz.

The veteran wicketkeeper-batter acknowledged Mohammed Siraj’s fitness would be a matter of concern for the home team. However, he also highlighted that India has solid back-up options.   “(Mohammed) Siraj not being fit was a problem in their bowling (in the second Test). Hopefully, he’s fit for the final Test but if he isn’t, we have Ishant (Sharma) and Umesh (Yadav) to choose from,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, Karthik believes India can post 400 runs in Cape Town if they bat to their positional. He also said Quinton de Kock’s sudden Test retirement has left a void in South Africa’s batting line-up.

“If India’s batting fires, they have the potential to post 400 runs. I also must say that South Africa’s batting looks rather light especially after Quinton de Kock’s loss. The moment Temba Bavuma gets out, you get a feeling  that they are bit light on their batting with Marco Jansen coming at seven. So, it’s going to be very interesting and I will definitely put my money on India,” concluded the 36-year-old.