3 times Adam Zampa tormented India's batting lineup in an ODI
Australia's Adam Zampa is one of the finest leg-spinners in limited-overs cricket at present. He proved his worth once again, picking up a four-wicket haul in the third ODI against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, March 22.
Riding on his splendid spell, the Aussies successfully managed to defend 269 and win the match by 21 runs. With this, they also handed India their first ODI series defeat at home in four years.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Zampa has wreaked havoc against India in a 50-over game. On that note, let's take a look at three instances when Adam Zampa tormented India's batting lineup in an ODI.
#3 4/54 (Sydney, 2020)
Australian wickets have little to offer for slower bowlers, especially in white-ball cricket. What makes Adam Zampa a special talent is his ability to extract purchase out of those decks.
He was on show during the first ODI of India's tour of Australia in 2020-21 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Although the hosts had 374 runs to defend, a good start from India backed by Hardik Pandya's quickfire knock threatened to take the game away from the Aussies.
However, Zampa put the brakes on the run flow and provided major breakthroughs to contain the Men in Blue to 308/8 in their 50 overs. He returned with figures of 4/54 from his 10 overs on a wicket that produced plenty of runs. He accounted for the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Hardik, and Ravindra Jadeja.
#2 3/50 (Rajkot, 2020)
Although Australia lost the game, Adam Zampa proved why he is so highly rated spinner in limited-overs cricket.
With a flat deck on offer, the home side got off to a flying start. They added 81 runs before the tricky leg spinner drew first blood, dismissing Rohit Sharma. He also bamboozled Shreyas Iyer with an excellent delivery before getting the better of Virat Kohli.
With India posting 340 on the board, Zampa's figures of 3/50 from 10 overs are praiseworthy.
Australia, however, were bundled out for 304, losing the match by 36 runs, despite a valiant knock of 98 from Steve Smith.
#1 4/45 (Chennai, 2023)
Adam Zampa bowled one of his best spells at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday when he helped his side defend 269 runs on a wicket that wasn't difficult to bat on.
The Men in Blue were cruising at one stage before Zampa trapped Shubman Gill LBW. India recovered well, riding on a sensible partnership between Kohli and Rahul. But, the witty leg-spinner came back to dismiss Rahul, which tilted the game in Australia's favor.
Zampa picked up two more wickets, including Hardik (40) and Jadeja (18) to put the final nail in the coffin. He was adjudged the Player of the Match for his spectacular spell, which will keep him in good stead ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.