Virat Kohli's Tormentor Adam Zampa Reveals His Mantra For Success Against Indian Skipper

Not many bowlers have success against Virat Kohli when it comes to limited overs contests. The Indian skipper, considered one of the greatest in the history of the game in the modern era, has scored 11625 runs at an averahe of 59 with 43 centuries, including eight against Australia. Kohli has decimated bowling attacks the world over but recently, he has had trouble against one Australian legspinner. Adam Zampa has managed to get rid of Virat Kohli four times in ODIs and twice in Twenty20 Internationals. His tally of six is the joint-highest by a bowler in limited-overs cricket along with West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul, who has dismissed Kohli six times in 12 games.

In the opening game against India in Mumbai, Zampa took Kohli's return catch for 16 after he was hit for a six the previous ball. India were restricted to 255 and centuries from David Warner and Aaron Finch powered Australia to their fourth consecutive win in ODIs in India and their 10-wicket win was only the second time in the last 15 years that India were hammered by this margin in a home ODI.

Adam Zampa has dismissed Virat Kohli four times in ODIs, including three consecutive in India. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Speaking ahead of the second ODI in Rajkot, Zampa was grounded and said with the number of times he has dismissed Kohli, the Indian skipper will be more focused on not getting out in the upcoming matches. "It's going to be an attacking approach. I think if you're on the back-foot and have a defensive mindset then that's when he (Kohli) can get on top of you. The most important thing playing in places like India against these guys is to have a little bit of character. He is a very hard guy to bowl to. He's one of the toughest guys I've ever had to bowl to. After game one (first ODI), he will be even more switched on. It will be a big challenge," Zampa said.

Kohli's Weak Point?

Zampa said Australia had managed to find out a certain Achilles heel in the Indian skipper and they would be wanting to target that in every game.

"We basically just found that Virat finds leg-spinners hard to line up early in his innings. He's such a great starter, even the other day he was 16 off 14. How much energy he brought to the crease, his running between the wickets, some of the cover drives he played off the quicks. I think it's important to try and have a game plan against him. So we figured out before the last game that it would be good to start with leg-spin to him. 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," Kohli said.

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Kohli has been dismissed 55 times by spinners in his ODI career so far. Zampa said it is not easy to be a wrist spinner in ODI cricket and he added there were more skillful legspinners in the game than him in the form of Rashid Khan and Kuldeep Yadav. "To be a wrist spinner in one-day cricket in the middle overs is not easy at all. It's probably one of the hardest formats. At least in T20 cricket you have five guys out the whole time and you know that guys are going to attack you. It's a big compliment from Virat. I'm not the most skillful leg-spinner in the world. Guys like Kuldeep Yadav and Rashid Khan are guys that are really hard to pick. But one thing I have always tried to do is have a strong character," Zampa said.

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