Ajaz Patel surpassed Ian Botham’s record at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. (BCCI)
Mumbai-born Ajaz Patel on Sunday conquered the Wankhede Stadium with his 23rd wicket in two matches, becoming the most successful overseas bowler at a single Test venue in India.
Set a 147-run target, India slumped to another top-order collapse as Ajaz Patel razed three of the top five in a flash. Ajaz castled Shubman Gill for 1 before dismissing Virat Kohli (1) caught at first-slip. The left-arm spinner soon removed Sarfaraz Khan (1) with a full-toss that the local batter swept to the deep square-leg fielder. Ajaz vaulted to the milestone by claiming his fourth wicket, that of Ravindra Jadeja, leaving India reeling at 71 for six.
Adding to the five wickets in the first innings, Ajaz has now totalled 23 wickets at the ground, surpassing Ian Botham’s tally of 22 at the venue. Ajaz’s haul is also the best by any overseas Test bowler on any ground in India.
In December 2021, Ajaz became only the third bowler in Test history to return a 10-for in an innings here after Jim Laker (1956) and Anil Kumble (1999). He finished that match with stunning figures of 14/225 — the best ever by a visiting bowler in India. And now, he has his wicket tally to 19 in just three innings.
Overall at Wankhede, Ashwin (41 wickets in 12 innings) leads the bowling charts, followed by Anil Kumble (38 in 14 inns), Kapil Dev (28 in 21 inns), Harbhajan Singh (24 in 10 innings) and Kharsan Ghavri (23 in 11 inns).
“Being back in Mumbai is always quite special and it’s a place I call home as well. Having the opportunity to play out here again is quite special. To be honest, after my 10-wicket haul, I wasn’t sure whether I’d get another opportunity to play out here again throughout my career,” Ajaz had said before this match.
Interestingly, the 36-year-old Ajaz has picked all 83 wickets of his career away from home, with 79 of them coming in Asian conditions.
Most Test wickets by an overseas bowler at a ground in India
23* (4 innings): Ajaz Patel at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
22 (4 innings): Ian Botham at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
18 (4 innings): Richie Benaud at Eden Gardens, Kolkata
17 (4 innings): Courtney Walsh at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
16 (4 innings): Richie Benaud at Nehru Stadium, Chennai
