India vs Australia: “Taking Virat Kohli’s wicket was a pressure-relief for me,” says Mitchell Swepson

India vs Australia: “Taking Virat Kohli’s wicket was a pressure-relief for me,” says Mitchell Swepson
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli

27-year-old Mitchell Swepson played in only his second T20I against India in the 1st match of the 3-match T20I series. The leg-spinner made his debut against England earlier this year. Australia went with two leggies in their match and the move nearly worked wonders as Swepson who was getting hit around the park picked up the all-important wicket of Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Swepson bowled just two overs in the match and struggled to find the right length as he kept bowling short balls which were dispatched to the fence by KL Rahul and later, Sanju Samson. However, off a similar short ball, Swepson surprised Kohli and got him to hit one straight back to his own hands. The Indian captain was visibly surprised by the dismissal as he looked at the pitch, smiled and then walked off.

‘Disappointed with the way I bowled’

Mitchell Swepson

Following the match, Swepson spoke in a virtual press conference and talked about his performance and picking up Virat Kohli’s wicket. “Look, a little bit disappointed I guess, in the way I bowled last night. So I think my first three balls weren’t great. So to get the wicket on the fourth and especially Virat’s (Kohli) wicket was I guess a bit of a pressure relief,” Swepson said.

“I was obviously just so excited to be out there and that over-excitement, added with the pressure of wanting to do really well and perform on the international stage. Throw in a couple of nerves as well and I just sort of tensed up a little-bit when I got my opportunity to bowl,” he added.

Despite the wicket of Kohli, Swepson reiterated that he was disappointed with his performance. “So, overall, quite disappointed with the way I bowled, but it’s always nice to get a wicket like that,” he stated.

The leggie was then asked about Australia opting to go for two wrist-spinners to which he replied saying, “I think two leg-spinners are fine. You’ve seen the impact that leg-spinners had in T20 format, basically in all competitions; the BBL (Big Bash League), the IPL (Indian Premier League), international cricket, there’s a lot of leg-spinners having a lot of impact,” he signed off.

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