Is Virat Kohli Adam Zampa's Bunny? Stats Suggest So

Virat Kohli-led India suffered a crushing ten-wicket loss at the hands of Australia in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Tuesday. In a lopsided contest, Australia thoroughly dominated the proceedings with both bat and ball after their skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to ball first. India were all out for just 255 and Australia chased down the total inside 38 overs.

Mitchell Starc made an instant impact with the ball by dismissing the dangerous Rohit Sharma for just 10. Dhawan and Rahul then set the platform by adding 121 runs for the second wicket as they scored 74 and 47 respectively. However, once they departed in a space of six runs, India lost their way and were all out for a below par score of 255.

In reply, Australia chased down the total inside 38 overs without losing a single wicket thanks to stunning centuries from their openers David Warner and Finch. Warner remained unbeaten on 128 while Finch remained unbeaten on 110 as Australia registered their biggest ODI win over India in terms of wickets.

https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1217098902333034497

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The duel between Adam Zampa and Virat Kohli:

Before the start of the three-match series, India skipper Virat Kohli had lauded Australia spinner Adam Zampa. The world number one ODI batsman was all praise for the way Adam Zampa performed on Australia’s last tour of India.

“Even when he was hit for boundaries (last year) he kept coming at the batsmen, which I think is important for a wrist-spinner,” Kohli said. “His mindset was a standout. He made those important breakthroughs.”

Well, Adam Zampa got the better of Virat Kohli once again on Tuesday as he dismissed the right-handed batsman for just 16. And as soon as Virat Kohli offered an easy return catch to Zampa, there were murmurs of whether the India skipper has become Zampa’s bunny. Well, it would not be appropriate to call Kohli Zampa’s bunny but the stats do suggest that he has struggled against the Australian leg-spinner.

It is the fourth time Zampa removed Virat Kohli across T20I and ODI cricket in the past 12 months, a period in which they have come up against one another 10 times. No bowler in the world has got the better of Kohli more often in the past year. At the same time, it should be mentioned that Virat Kohli has averaged more than 51 in those ten matches.

But Zampa dismissing him every now and then would be a big concern for the India skipper and this duel could pretty much decide the outcome of the three-match series.