IND vs AUS 3rd ODI: One player battle that can define the series

In the second ODI, on the 1st ball of 44th Over, Zampa bowled a flighted delivery to Virat Kohli, Kohli looking to accelerate the run rate lofts the ball towards long-off where Ashton Agar and Mitchell Starc combine to take the catch of Virat.

Virat Loses his wicket to Zampa for the second time in two innings. Zampa also creates a record of getting the wicket of Kohli the maximum times in white-ball cricket.

Virat Kohli vs Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa is a bowler whose stocks have risen rapidly in white-ball cricket. He has garnered a reputation in Big Bash League and has become the go-to bowler for Maxwell, his captain in Melbourne Stars.

Adam Zampa has taken the wicket of Virat Kohli five times in ODIs whereas he has gotten rid of Kohli two times in T20Is. The rivalry first started when Australia visited India early in 2019 in the absence of Warner and Smith. Zampa bowled beautifully in the series and got rid of Kohli two times in five ODI’s.

Adam Zampa is now the bowler who has taken the wicket of Kohli for the highest number of times. The other bowlers who have gotten rid of Kohli the highest number of times are Ravi Rampaul of West Indies who has taken his wicket six times whereas Thisara Perera and Tim Southee of having gotten rid of Kohli five times each.

Is Kohli Zampa’s bunny?

Virat Kohli has shown an ineptitude to leg spinners in limited over crickets. In ODI’s and T20Is his average drops to just a mere 34 against leg spinners as compared to 70 against off-spinners. However, if we look at 2nd ODI Kohli came to crease when the scorecard read 81/1. Zampa was high on confidence after dismissing Rohit and initiated his modus operandi against Kohli. He started bowling outside off and forced Kohli to use his arms to drive, a weakness which Kohli has recently displayed against the leg spinners.

However, Kohli like a lion ready to pounce came prepared for the attack and beautifully used his arms and played some elegant drives against Zampa. He dominated Zampa throughout the match. Though Zampa took his wicket, it cannot be called as a victory as Kohli was looking to accelerate and any bowler could have taken the wicket.

The competition between Zampa and Kohli has been a highly competitive one and is looking no less than a mental battle. However, concentration is the key to mind battles, and no player is ready to back down. The third ODI will be an awaited one for the struggle between these two.