"India will be under more pressure" - Saba Karim ahead of 4th IND vs AUS Test

Former wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim believes that India will be under more pressure as compared to Australia ahead of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

During a discussion on India News Sports, Karim pointed out that Australia have already secured a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, whereas India are yet to book a berth.

Saba Karim reckoned that along with the pressure, there are also going to be a lot of expectations from Rohit Sharma and Co., given that they are playing at home.

"India will be under more pressure," Karim explained. "Australia have already qualified for the WTF final. Winning this match is very important for India. Furthermore, when you play a Test match in favourable conditions, you'd expect India to win the match and the series. That's why we prepared such pitches."

He highlighted that the Australian spinners will pose a stiff challenge to the Indian batters at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Saba Karim further noted that the Aussie spinners have been impressive on this tour and could make things difficult for the hosts in the crucial final Test as well.

"I believe the Indian batters will be under a lot of pressure," Karim added. "The Australian spinners have shown good form, with Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy doing well. They did take some time, but now seem to have found the rhythm. It will be a big challenge for our batters. We will win the Test match if our batters score big runs."

Notably, senior off-spinner Nathan Lyon was a key architect in Australia's thumping nine-wicket win over India in Indore, finishing with eight wickets. Rohit Sharma and Co. struggled to counter the spin bowlers and were bundled out for 109 and 163.

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"The dominance of spin in this series has become too much now" - Rajkumar Sharma on India vs Australia Test series

Speaking during the aforementioned discussion, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma stated that he expects the pitch in Ahmedabad to be a lot better than Indore.

He further claimed that the home team won't take the risk of preparing another rank-turner, as they saw how Australia are capable of winning even in such conditions.

"I hope that the wicket won't be as bad as Indore," Rajkumar added. "We might get to see big runs from the players, which even the fans want to see. The dominance of spin in this series has become too much now.

"The defeat was a wake-up call for India, as they realized that Australia too can beat them on a turning track. India won't take such a big chance by preparing a rank turner where scoring runs would be very tough."

Despite losing the last game, India lead the four-match Test series 2-1. However, winning the last fixture is of utmost importance for them as they look to qualify for the WTC final. The final Test will kick off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, March 9.