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Aussie spinner Zampa eyes Dhoni’s early dismissal in Kolkata

Dhoni scored causative 79 runs off 88 balls to help India win the first ODI by 26 runs.

Aussie spinner Zampa eyes Dhoni’s early dismissal in Kolkata

Australian cricketer Adam Zampa (C) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Indian captain Virat Kohli (Photo: AFP)

Seeking revenge against Indians for past humiliation, Australian spinner Adam Zampa has set his sights on the most-valued wicket of MS Dhoni to propel the visitors to victory in the second ODI to be held at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday.

Dhoni scored causative 79 runs off 88 balls to help India win the first ODI by 26 runs via Duckworth Lewis method at Chepauk. He smashed as many as two sixes and four boundaries and lifted the Chennai crowd off their feet.

Also read: Decoding Dhoni’s remarkable statistics at Chepauk

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Preparing for the second ODI, where the Aussies can equalise the five-match ODI series 1-1, Zampa said Indian wicketkeeper-batsman’s wicket will be most crucial and his team will look to dismiss him as soon as possible.

“MS is an important wicket and we need to get him early. We could not do that in the last game,” Zampa said as quoted by IANS.

In the first ODI, Zampa couldn’t impress much with his legbreak googly but took the most significant wicket of Hardik Pandya, who scored his career-best 83 runs.

Zampa was full of praise for the Dhoni-Pandya partnership pair, who put together 118 runs for the sixth-wicket stand.

“MS has been there for a long time. The way he timed his innings, in his whole career that has been his strength. For a young player like Hardik, he was the guide at the other end.

“It was important for us to break that partnership. We couldn’t do that. We’ve spoken about how important it is to strike against new batsman and we could not do that,” Zampa continued.

Zampa has been a lucky bowler for the young-gun Pandya as he reached his half-tons through the spinner on three consecutive occasions.

“It was important to get Hardik off strike and we couldn’t do that. Poor execution from me, I bowled two balls that were too full. Hardik’s a very good player. Getting the length right out here is very important. The last day I could not execute the way I wanted to,” the leg-spinner added.

Zampa vowed to fare better against Pandya the next time he face him on field, adding the only way to tackle such a situation is by getting the player off strike or taking his wicket.

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