Dinesh Karthik backs England as favourites to win the Lord's Test - here's why

Indian crowds roared after their team bundled England out for just 192 in their second innings on day 4 of the Lord’s Test. A modest 193-run target raised India’s hopes of taking a 2-1 lead in the series. However, the final session of the day’s play saw English bowlers come out all guns blazing. England's fast bowlers used the new ball brilliantly and asked some tough questions. By the end of day 4, India lost four wickets, including three crucial wickets of skipper Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Karun Nair. 

The game hung in the balance, with England needing six more wickets and India requiring 135 runs to win. Despite losing four wickets in quick succession, many cricket pundits still backed India as favourites to win the Test but Dinesh Karthik thought otherwise. Dinesh Karthik feels that England gained the upper hand in the game after picking four wickets while giving away just 58 runs. Karthik went on to add that if England manage to pick two more wickets early on day five, then they can put India under serious pressure. 

“WinViz says 68% India but I believe it’s 60% in England’s favour,” Karthik told Sky Sports. 

“They have got three big wickets already, a couple of wickets more and there’s a word called pressure that makes you do very very awkward and weird things. India have kind of got themselves in a hole. Ideally, you wanted to see past this stage with two wickets, not more than that. It’s three wickets down and England have the upper hand as of now.” he added. 

India's hope rests on KL Rahul, Pant on day 5 

In pursuit of a 193-run target, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early on five but KL Rahul and Karun Nair batted well for the next 10 overs, adding 35 runs for the second wicket. Brydon Carse brought England back into the game, picking two crucial wickets of Karun Nair (14) and Shubman Gill (6) and leaving India in trouble at 58 for 4 at stumps. 

KL Rahul, however, is batting well unbeaten on 33 and Rishabh Pant is likely to walk out to accompany him on day five morning. Both the batters have been pivotal to India’s dominant performance in the series and will be vital to India’s fortunes in the third Test. Rishabh Pant is the second-highest run-getter in the series with 416 runs, while KL Rahul is fourth in the runs tally with 369 runs to his name.