Zampa: Virat Finds Leg-Spinners Hard to Line Up

Australian leg-spinner vs Indian captain

India captain Virat Kohli

Indian captain Virat Kohli and Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa are primed for another intriguing battled during Friday's second ODI in Rajkot.

Zampa has dismissed Kohli four times in 11 ODI innings. The latest came during the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai earlier this week, when Zampa had  Kohli caught and bowled.

Australia won the match by 10 wickets on the back of unbeaten centuries from openers Aaron Finch and David Warner. They have an early lead in the three-match series. The Australians are priced at 1.80 to win the second with Bet365.

Zampa on Kohli

“It's got to be an attacking approach. I think if you're on the back foot and have a defensive mindset then that's when Kohli can get on top of you,” said Zampa.

“I've got him out four times in the last year or so it's nice to have that confidence to bowl to him at the start of his innings.

“The most important thing playing in places like India against these guys is to have a little bit of character. You probably know you're going to get hit for boundaries but it can really get worse if you make that affect you. I have got him a few times now but I don't think there is anything in it. He still scores at a strike-rate of over 100 against me.

“We basically just find that Virat finds leg-spinners hard to line up early in his innings, to be honest. I think it's important to try and have a game plan to him, so we figured out for that last game that it would be good to start with leg-spin to him. It might be different next game.”

Kohli will continue to captain the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League later this year. Finch and seamer Kane Richardson, who are involved in the ongoing ODI series, will be his team-mates at RCB.

The Royal Challengers have never won the IPL. They will pursue a maiden title this year. They will also relish the services of South African trio Chris Morris, AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn.

Morris, de Villiers and Steyn are currently with the Sydney Thunder, Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars, respectively, in Australia's Big Bash League.

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