In the Australia vs Namibia match in the T20 World Cup 2024, the ace leg spinner Adam Zampa achieved a unique feat. He became the first Australian to scalp 100 wickets in the T20Is. Meanwhile, Australia defeated Namibia by 9 wickets and solidified their position for the Super 8 stage.
This achievement places Adam Zampa in an elite group of bowlers who have achieved this feat earlier. There are just 14 players before him who achieved this and in the case of a leg spin bowler, Zampa is one of mere 6 players to do so.
Looking at figures, it has been a good ride to 100 wickets for Adam Zampa. He has an amazing flighted delivery, variations in speed and can make wizardry turns with the ball. These skills have helped him a lot to reach 100 wickets milestone and it also gave shocks to the world top class batsmen.
Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Full Super 8 Qualification Scenario Explained
All in all, getting to 100 wickets will certainly be thoughtful for him, although it is simply one part of the jigsaw. Adam Zampa is an ideal frontline limited-overs cricketer who has delivered consistently in T20 cricket.
ADAM ZAMPA BECOMES THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN BOWLER TO COMPLETE 100 WICKETS IN MENS T20I HISTORY 🤯🔥
– An Australian white ball legend….!!! pic.twitter.com/UBfaC8xdI3
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 12, 2024
The spell of 4 wickets in 4 overs while conceding just 12 runs against Namibia, Zampa earned Player of the Match award. This helped him to jump to the rankings of the players who won the Player of the Match awards to joint-second in the T20 World Cup along with Chris Gayle and Mahela Jayawardene. Virat Kohli is still alone at the top with the record of having received 7 Player of the Match awards in the T20 World Cup.
Even more amazing to note of Zampa’s feat is the fact that he has done this despite having leapfrogged over other established Australian fast bowlers such as Mitchell Starc. Zampa broke the record for the maximum wickets by an Australian in the T20 World Cup; before him, Starc had 29 wickets. Zampa has now crossed that mark with 31 wickets, indicating the rise of this player in the shortest format of the game.
Conventional wise pace bowing is the primary weapon of Australians in this format of the game. Nevertheless, the success story of Zampa shows that good spin bowling can find a place in T20s.
As Australia keep chasing the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy, Zampa’s experience and brilliance will play a pivotal role for his team. There are many more matches in the tournament to take place mostly for the Australian cricket team because they have solidified their position to enter the Super 8 stage.
