Axar Patel picks up yet another five-wicket haul; his fifth in just seven innings

In cricket, there is a phrase called “Man with a golden arm,” which refers to bowlers who pick wickets almost at will, and Axar Patel is certainly that man at the moment. Playing in his fourth test match, Axar Patel has picked up the fifth five-wicket haul of his career to crumble New Zealand’s inning.

It was not the easiest condition for the batter when the ball spun and kept an uneven bounce. Still, the bowlers were required to bowl in the right channels, and Axar Patel did that. After bowling very few overs in the first session of the day, Axar was brought into the attack in the second session of the game, and the left-arm spinner caused carnage in New Zealand’s middle order.

Ross Taylor was the first victim claimed by Axar Patel in the 95th over of the game. New Zealand was 214 for three at that point, and this one wicket opened the floodgates for wickets to follow. Soon Axar picked his second wicket of the inning only two overs later to remove Henry Nicholls. The most prized wicket of the inning was Tom Latham, who looked settled while batting at 95 runs of 213 balls. He had remained patient and determined for most of his inning, but a rough patch by the Indian spinners made him act out of character. As a result, Latham missed out on a well-deserved hundred. The fourth wicket of Tom Blundell was a rather unfortunate event where the ball didn’t bounce enough for the batter to negotiate easily. And the fifth wicket of Tim Southee was a tamed dismissal as the tailender batter played all around a pretty straight ball and got castled.