Zampa answers call-up to send Royals top

Adam Zampa shone with the ball to fire the Rajasthan Royals to the top of the Indian Premier League standings, knocking the Chennai Super Kings off their perch with a 32-run win on Friday morning (AEDT).

Zampa (3-22 from three overs) combined with fellow spin star Ravichandran Ashwin (2-35 from four) to strangle MS Dhoni's Super Kings after Rajasthan had blasted 5-202 in Jaipur.

The 31-year-old Australian had previously started in just one game this season (he played another as the impact substitute) with Ashwin and India white-ball wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal ahead in the pecking order.

Together, the trio are one of the most credentialled spin groups ever assembled in the IPL.

And Zampa, who replaced injured Melbourne Stars teammate Trent Boult in the XI, made a strong case to hold his spot.

He was decisive in leading Shane Warne's former team to a statement victory, removing Chennai openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, before returning to nix hopes of a late fightback when he had Moeen Ali caught behind.

Zampa, a A$270k purchase for the Royals, has been one of white-ball cricket's most effective bowlers in recent years but has found IPL gigs difficult to come by given the surplus of local Indian spinners. Teams can only field four overseas players per game.

"I have been playing cricket for a long time, you've got to be mentally ready and prepared for whoever you are playing against," Zampa told the host broadcaster.

"Train a little bit, and enjoy the poolside …"

Rajasthan had lost two of their three previous games but have now leapfrogged Chennai on the top of the table, sitting level on points with both the Super Kings and the Gujarat Titans.

"We've been under the pump the last couple of games, we haven’t quite been at our best. The boys put up an amazing total on a tricky wicket, it stayed a bit low," said Zampa.

"For myself, being in and out of the team, to get a few wickets was a nice feeling."

Star Englishman Jos Buttler and captain Sanju Samson were the big names at the top of the Royals batting line-up, but the hosts had 21-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal to thank for underpinning their big total.

The left-hander smacked three of the first four balls of the game to the boundary and went on to hit four sixes in his blazing 77 off 43 following a 86-run opening partnership with Buttler.

Dhruv Jurel (34 off 15) and Devdutt Padikkal (27 off 13) applied the finishing touches with only Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana (1-24 from four overs) able to exert any control over the scoring rate for Chennai.

Rajasthan travel to Mumbai for their next game against the Australian-heavy Indians team on Sunday, while Chennai return home to host Punjab Kings on Saturday.

IPL 2023 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Gujarat Titans GUT	14	10	4	0	0	0.809	0	20
2 Chennai Super Kings CSK	14	8	5	0	1	0.652	0	17
3 Lucknow Super Giants LSG	14	8	5	0	1	0.284	0	17
4 Mumbai Indians MI	14	8	6	0	0	-0.044	0	16
5 Rajasthan Royals RAJ	14	7	7	0	0	0.148	0	14
6 Royal Challengers Bengaluru Men RCB	14	7	7	0	0	0.135	0	14
7 Kolkata Knight Riders KKR	14	6	8	0	0	-0.239	0	12
8 Punjab Kings KXI	14	6	8	0	0	-0.304	0	12
9 Delhi Capitals Men DEL	14	5	9	0	0	-0.808	0	10
10 Sunrisers Hyderabad SUN	14	4	10	0	0	-0.59	0	8

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

Aussies in IPL 2023

Delhi Capitals: Mitch Marsh ($1.2m), David Warner ($1.16m)

Gujarat Titans: Matthew Wade ($446,000)

Lucknow Super Giants: Marcus Stoinis ($1.7m), Daniel Sams ($135,000)

Mumbai Indians: Tim David ($1.53m), Cameron Green ($3.15m), Jason Behrendorff ($135,000), Riley Meredith ($272,000)

Punjab Kings: Nathan Ellis ($135,000), Matt Short ($36,000)

Rajasthan Royals: Adam Zampa ($270,000)

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Josh Hazlewood ($1.4m), Glenn Maxwell ($2m)

Figures represent auction price in Australian dollars at time of sale