Cricket World Cup 2023 | I was under the weather before the match, says Australia spinner Adam Zampa

Adam Zampa battled physical issues to take 4 wkts & help Australia beat Sri Lanka. He felt Cummins' spell & run-out changed the game & admitted it took him longer than he wanted to get into the game.

Adam Zampa was not at his physical best during his match-winning performance against Sri Lanka here on Monday.

“I did a gym session a couple of nights ago and I don’t know if it was a back spasm, but I was under the weather the last couple of days. I had to do fitness tests before the game today. It felt like adrenaline was going to get me through,” the leg-spinner, who rattled the Sri Lankan middle-order with a four-wicket haul, said.

However, the 31-year-old didn’t seem too impressed with his spell and feels that it is taking him too long to find his rhythm.

“It took me a lot longer than I wanted to get into the game today. Bowling to set batters, trying to build some pressure, I just wasn’t able to do that. I thought [Pat] Cummins’ spell was a gamechanger for us and even his energy, that run-out after the rain break. After I got a couple, the energy changed in the group.”

After conceding 22 runs in three overs in his first spell, where he missed his lengths, Zampa was re-introduced in the attack with two new batters, Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, at the crease.

Zampa scalped Mendis by getting him to top-edge his sweep shot and followed it up by picking three more wickets with his googlies.

Asked whether there was any pressure ahead of the match, especially on skipper Cummins, Zampa said, “The only thing I saw on the WhatsApp group was ‘same eleven as last game’.