IND vs AUS 2020: Mitchell Swepson reveals how he tackled the Virat Kohli threat in the third T20I
Australian leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson received the Man-of-the-Match award in the third T20I against India for his terrific bowling exploits.
The spinner finished with figures of 3/25 in his four overs and was very successful in keeping Virat Kohli quiet during his spell.
Mitchell Swepson, who picked up Virat Kohli's wicket in the second T20I, didn't do so in the third T20I but was pleased with his performance against the Indian skipper. He even rated his performance higher than the one in the second T20I.
Mitchell Swepson said at the post-match media conference:
“Yeah, 100 per cent (happy and satisfied), obviously a lot happier with how I bowled tonight compared to that first game. And I was a bit disappointed (other days), the ball came out little-bit shorter, which is not the way I like to bowl (in the first game).”
Speaking about what he did to tackle Virat Kohli, the 27-year-old revealed:
“So tonight, I just tried to really spin it up and get some nice shape and turn. That seemed to work a lot better for me and it worked quite well to Virat (Kohli).”
Mitchell Swepson said that he was trying to defend the short leg-side boundary against Virat Kohli and was glad that it worked out well for him.
Virat Kohli top-scored for India in their run-chase in the third T20I but his efforts went in vain as India fell short by 12 runs at the end.
The 32-year-old admitted in the post-match interview that the middle phase during the batting had cost India the game.
Mitchell Swepson heaps praise on Adam Zampa
Mitchell Swepson, alongside Virat Kohli's RCB teammate Adam Zampa, had put a stranglehold on India during the middle overs of the contest.
The former heaped praise on his spin twin in the post-match press conference and said:
"Zampa is been excellent since I have come into the T20 squad. He is obviously a very experienced bowler now in white-ball cricket, played close to 100 games for Australia now."
Mitchell Swepson added that Zampa was a bit like a mentor to him:
“It was great to have him here as a bit of a mentor, especially having a guy like him out on the field, helping with setting fields and things like that was really handy for m e.He was really quick to offer his advice when I flew into the squad, so I can’t speak highly enough of Zampa’s help that he gave me throughout the past three games.”
The Virat Kohli-led Indian side will now gear up for the highly anticipated Test series, which begins on 17th December with a pink ball Test at Adelaide. The team will face Australia A in a pink ball warm-up game on December 11th before the commencement of the Test series.