Yesterday, the Indians defeated the Ozzies in a high-scoring encounter.

Aided by a Shikhar Dhawan century, and 82 by Virat Kohli, the Indian team managed 352/5 in their 50 overs, and pretty much every Ozzie bowler apart from Pat Cummins came in for some tap.

Legspinner Adam Zampa’s six overs cost 50, but it was his habit of sticking his hand in his pocket that quickly caught the attention of social media users.

Whilst many of the most widely-shared tweets have since been removed, these two remain online:

Whats in the pocket Zampa??? Are Australia upto old tricks again? pic.twitter.com/MPrKlK2bs9

— Peter Shipton (@Shippy1975) June 9, 2019

Another, lengthier version:

Hey @ICC here’s how #AdamZampa is respecting spirit of the game. And, he is also not wearing #BalidaanBadge #INDvAUS #CWC19 #WorldCup2019 #BallTampering pic.twitter.com/J7B6zUGc8r

— Raj (@rgis1369) June 9, 2019

According to the Australian team, this one is easy to explain away. Below from the Guardian:

Adam Zampa was likely using hand warmers when cameras captured him putting his hand in his pockets before bowling in Australia’s loss to India…

“I haven’t seen the photos, but I know that he has hand warmers in his pocket,” Australia’s captain Aaron Finch said. “He has them every single game he plays. I honestly haven’t seen them (the images), so I can’t comment too much on it. But I know for a fact that he has hand warmers every game.”

Zampa was not under any official investigation and umpires did not raise any concerns on the field.

For me, there’s not much in this. Zampa needs his fingers to rip his legspinners, and even in the height of summer, the English conditions are unforgiving.

It was around 16 degrees Celcius, so not exactly beach weather.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of the match was Indian skipper Virat Kohli asking the Indian fans to applaud Steve Smith, rather than boo him.

Here’s Kohli in action:

Virat Kohli gestures India fans at The Oval to applaud Steve Smith, not boo him.. respect pic.twitter.com/ynimzHrejq

— ullas Jayaram (@ulla1984) June 9, 2019

Nice gesture, but sorry, I want Smith and Warner booed for every second they’re on the field during the World Cup.

It may be all us South African fans have to hang on to, as it looks like today’s match between the Proteas and the West Indies in Southampton is going to be a washout.

That would be a damning blow to our already slim chances of making the semi-finals.

Relying on the weather to keep us alive wasn’t how I had hoped the first two weeks of the tournament would go.

[source:guardian]