cricket

Updated: Mar 10, 2019 10:51 IST

The form of Australia spinner Adam Zampa will be a big cause of concern for India when the two teams clash in the fourth ODI of the series at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Sunday.

Australia kept the series alive courtesy of their 32-run win in Ranchi and will look for a similar sort of performance in the fourth ODI to keep India at bay as far as series win is concerned. For this to happen, the visitors will once again pin their hopes upon Zampa, who has been going through a rich vein of form.

With seven wickets in three matches, Zampa is joint second in the list of highest wicket-taker in the series. He is tied with teammate Pat Cummins with seven wickets and is only behind Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who has picked up eight wickets so far.

Also Read: India’s predicted XI for 4th ODI – Three changes expected in Mohali

But more importantly, Zampa has accounted for some crucial India wickets and the hosts need to be wary of something similar happening in Mohali.

The likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav have been dismissed twice by Zampa in the series and he also played a crucial role in Australia’s win in Ranchi. Ambati Rayudu has also fallen to Zampa in the ongoing series once.

Moreover, this is his best streak in ODIs where in three consecutive innings he has picked 2 or more wickets. Although he has been taken for runs in the last two ODI, his wicket-taking ability makes him a crucial option for the visitors.

2/49: Hyderabad

2/62: Nagpur

3/70: Ranchi

With the help of his exploits in the ongoing series, Zampa stands third in the list of most wickets taken by an Aussie spinner in a bilateral series against India. The spinner will have the opportunity to better his tally in the final two matches of the series.

Furthermore, Zampa needs just one wicket to complete 50 ODI wickets and he will become the 45th Australian bowler to reach this landmark and 10th spinner from his nation to do so.

Also Read: MS Dhoni’s absence opens door for Rohit Sharma to claim this record

Also, if he manages to reach that milestone in Mohali, he will become the second fastest Australian spinner (38 ODIs) to scalp 50 wickets after the legendary Shane Warne, who took 25 ODIs to reach this landmark.