Ajaz Patel became the fourth New Zealand spinner to take a five-wicket haul in India as he rocked India early on day 2 of the final Test at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
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Ajaz Patel was on a roll on day 2 as he continued his great run at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai against India. After taking all four wickets on the first day curtailed due to a wet outfield, Ajaz Patel continued to rock India. On the first day, Ajaz Patel had a memorable outing as he dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in one over for 0. It was the 10th time that Virat Kohli had fallen for a duck as a captain and it prolonged his agony. For Pujara, it continued his lean patch in Test cricket.
But, on day 2, Ajaz Patel struck early yet again. He removed Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin off successive deliveries to take a five-wicket haul. The left-arm spinner missed the chance for a hat-trick as Axar Patel blocked the third delivery. In the course of taking the wickets of Saha and Ashwin, Ajaz picked up his third five-wicket haul in Tests. He has taken all the six wickets that have fallen in the Indian innings so far.
This was Ajaz Patel’s third five-wicket haul and the remarkable thing is, all the hauls have come in Asia. It was Ajaz’s haul of 5/59 that helped New Zealand beat Pakistan by four runs in Abu Dhabi in 2018. During the Sri Lanka Tests, he took a five-wicket haul in the Galle Test. However, this was the first time that a New Zealand spinner took a five-wicket haul in the first innings of a Test match in India.
Ajaz joins Daniel Vettori, John Bracewell, and Hedley Howarth as the other spinners to have taken a five-wicket haul in India. Howarth was the first spinner to take a five-wicket haul in India in Nagpur in 1969. Howarth’s 5/34 helped New Zealand win the Test match which was their first in India. After a gap of 19 years, John Bracewell took 6/51 in the Mumbai Test of 1988. Bracewell’s efforts helped New Zealand win the match by 136 runs. This was, incidentally, New Zealand’s last win in India.
Daniel Vettori remains the only New Zealand spinner to take five wickets twice in India. He took 6/127 in the 1999 Test in Kanpur but New Zealand lost the match. Vettori again took 5/135 in the 2010 Test in Hyderabad, a match remembered for the heroics of Brendon McCullum and his double ton.
After taking the top four wickets on day 1 of the Mumbai Test, Ajaz remarked that this was the stuff dreams were made off. Originally from Mumbai, he moved to New Zealand at a young age. He was not expected to feature in the New Zealand cricket set-up until he was dramatically called into the squad for the series against Pakistan.
“Everyone was out there working hard and poor old Rachin came down with a bug this morning. He fought his way out there throughout the day. It is pretty impressive from the young man to be able to stick it out. It really shows his character. Tomorrow is a new day. We start fresh, and we go again. It is just about bowling in partnerships. This is what dreams are made of. To be out here and pick up four wickets on the first day is pretty special. At the same time the job is only half done,” Ajaz Patel had said. It is indeed a grand homecoming for the left-arm spinner.
