Don’t write off champions: Nathan Lyon on Kohli’s recent batting slump
The Australian team must be hoping to take advantage of Virat Kohli’s prolonged batting slump when the two sides clash in the five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy
Admitting the excellence of India batsman Virat Kohli, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa on Thursday said that the India skipper is a very hard guy to bowl to.
“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,” said Zampa in Rajkot ahead of the second ODI match of the three-match series against India as quoted by IANS.
In the first ODI between India and Australia in Mumbai, which the latter won by 10 wickets, Zampa got the prized wicket of Kohli. The leggie has now dismissed the right-handed batsman four times across T20I and ODI cricket in the past 12 months, a period in which they have faced each other 10 times.
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“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,” said Zampa.
Meanwhile, Zampa added that the Aussies have cracked Kohli’s weak point.
“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,” the leggie said.
“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,” he added.
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