Cricket

Ajaz Patel picks up 10-wicket haul in first inning against India; becomes third bowler to achieve this feat

By Vaibhaw Tiwari

Ajaz Patel’s homecoming test match couldn’t get any better than this. The Left-arm spinner took all the 10 Indian wickets in an inning to become the only third bowler in the history of Test Cricket to achieve this feat.

Indian pitches may be a paradise for spin bowlers, but one still has to ball the right lines and length to take ten wickets in one inning. Ajaz was on the money from the very start of the inning and put up a great show on both days of the play to bundle the Indian team for a score of 325 runs.

It all started for Ajaz in the second session of day one, when he removed a dangerous-looking Shubman Gill for 44. Then he undid Pujara in the flight to pick up his second, followed by Virat Kohli’s prized wicket for a duck. Then he broke the blooming partnership between Mayank and Iyer by removing the centurion from the previous test. He ended the first day with four wickets to his name.

The second day was no different for Ajaz. He started from where he left off on the first day to remove Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin in consecutive deliveries. Then later he removed a set looking Mayank Agarwal and cleaned up the tail in the form of Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, and Mohammad Siraj to become the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in a Test inning. He picked up the ten wickets in 47.5 overs at an economy of 2.5 and strike rate of 11.9.

Ajaz Patel became the third bowler after Jim Laker ad Anil Kumble to achieve this feat. He also recorded the highest number of wickets by a visiting spinner in India, as well as against India.

Tags: Ajaz Patel Anil Kumble India vs New Zealand Mayank Agawal Virat Kohli

Vaibhaw Tiwari

Vaibhaw Tiwari is a postgraduate in English. A media enthusiast who has a stronghold on communication and content writing. Vaibhaw is currently working as a subeditor at Daily India News and can be reached at [email protected]