In the short buildup to the second and final Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai between India and New Zealand, the Mumbai-born Kiwi spinner Ajaz Patel mentioned that his parents had never even seen him play in person back home in New Zealand, and that he was happy to have his parents as well as extended family, based in the Maximum City, to come and watch him play.
While he bared his heart out to the media, little did the diminutive left-arm New Zealand spinner Ajaz, who had left Mumbai with his family at the tender age of 8, know that he would create history at one of the grandest venues in world cricket with the ball.
In the Test match No 2,438, with the format’s history going back to the year 1877, Ajaz recorded only the third instance of a bowler taking all 10 wickets in an innings, a feat which he completed on Saturday, but signs of which he provided on the first day of the series decider on Friday.
Patel had snaffled all four wickets that India lost on the opening day after electing to bat, with Mayank Agarwal striking his fourth century to take the home team to a strong footing of 221/4 at stumps. India looked set for a strong total — just like they did in the first innings of the series in Kanpur — but Ajaz ran through their batting lineup to produce a historic spell.
Ajaz returned with figures of 47.5-12-119-10 to join former England spinner Jim Laker and former India captain Anil Kumble as only the third cricketer in the history to have taken all 10 wickets in an innings.
From a strong position of 221/4, India were bowled out for 325, losing 6 wickets for 104 runs. Agarwal, who began the day on 120 not out, fell for 150, which came from 311 balls with 17 boundaries and 4 hits over the fence.
Ajaz’s feat was also unique on two separate counts: this was the first time when a bowler had taken all test 10 wickets in a Test innings while playing away from home, and it was recorded in the first innings of a match for the first time.
New Zealand returned a happy and confident bunch during the changeover after the end of India's first-innings. But what was to transpire over the next couple of hours was an ignominy for a proud cricketing house, as New Zealand were shot out for their sixth lowest total ever — a mere 62 — in the conventional format of cricket.
Mohammed Siraj ran through the New Zealand top order to return with 4-0-19-3 whereas Ravichandran Ashwin made New Zealand batsmen look miserable, as he recorded figures of 48-2-8-4. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel was once again on the mark, returning with 2/14 from his 9.1 overs whereas Jayant Yadav also claimed a wicket in the 2 overs that he bowled.
New Zealand were bowled out for 62 in 28.1 overs which also happened to be the lowest total recorded ever in a Test match by any team in India. This was overall the sixth lowest total for New Zealand in their Test history, and it also happens to be their lowest against India.
Only two New Zealand batsmen — opener Tom Latham and all-rounder Kyle Jamison — got into the double digits as they scored 10 and 17 respectively. India did not have to work extra hard for their wickets has Siraj had already set the tone by bouncing out Latham and knocking down the off-stump of the most experienced New Zealand batsmen on the tour, Ross Taylor.
With plenty of time left in the day and having obtained a first innings lead of 263 runs, India could have easily imposed follow on against New Zealand to have also ensured an early end to the contest. But with their batsmen running low on confidence in general, which includes their captain Virat Kohli whose last Test century came in November 2019, India decided to bat again with more than three days’ play left in the match.
The home team, however, had to pick a new opening pair after Shubman Gill copped a severe blow to his right elbow while fielding at silly point. The shot, hit hard by Jamieson, rammed straight into gills elbow, leaving him in severe pain and forcing him out from the field.
India did well in the remainder of the day with the bat to ensure that despite Ajaz’s heroic feats, they remained in control of the second Test at Mumbai. Agarwal resumed where he left off in the first innings to reach 38 not out from 75 balls with 6 boundaries at stumps, in the rich company of Cheteshwar Pujara, who was batting on 29 from 53 balls with 3 boundaries and a six to his credit.
India were ahead by 332 runs at the close of play on the second day, and even if they decide to declare without facing a ball on the third day morning, they still have a total daunting enough to challenge the Kiwi batsmen who are also without the services of Kane Williamson. The regular Kiwi skipper watched all action unfold in front of him from the sidelines at the Wankhede Stadium.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
Read All Articles >
