Australia’s leg-spinner Adam Zampa hailed Ashton Agar for his match-changing spell in the third ODI against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday. Australia was able to defend their score of 269 runs by 21 runs and with it, clinched the series 2-1.
Meanwhile, Ashton Agar, who was playing his maiden match of the tour, played a key role in the team’s win as he took two wickets and conceded 41 runs in his quota of four overs. The first ball which Agar bowled to Virat Kohli was a ripper as it gripped the surface and hit the bat’s shoulder.
Agar continuously pitched the ball in the right areas and he was finally rewarded for his good work in his last over. The left-arm orthodox spinner got the big wicket of Virat Kohli, who was settled on 54 and then dismissed Suryakumar Yadav with a skidder on the first ball.
On the other hand, Adam Zampa was also right on the money and returned with impressive figures of 4-45 in his 10 overs. The leg-spinner dismissed Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Zampa was awarded the Player of the Match. He said in the post-match presentation, “I have had some success here. It’s a tough place to come, always a huge challenge. I try to stay in the game and be competitive. Ashton Agar changed the game. Kudos to the bowlers who bowled before me as well. We trust each other, trust our game plan. The message was to trust our process and improve on it.”
Agar was also delighted with his performance as he played a key role in Australia’s win.
He said after the game, “It was nice. Lovely to finish the series on a high. It is a tough place to come and play, it was a hot day and to finish with a win was beautiful. It was a nice way to start (referring to his first ball), there was obviously plenty in the pitch for me and as soon as the first ball did that, it was a great indication on how I had to go about for the rest of the innings, put the ball in the right place and let the pitch do the rest. Mitch (Marsh) came back and said 250 would be a good total out there, he said it was starting to get slow and it was taking more turn. Gill and Rohit started nicely but it got harder and harder. It is always fun bowling with Zampa, we are great mates and we had a pretty good time out there.”
Adam Zampa will play for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming IPL season.
