In December 2021, Ajaz became only the third bowler in Test history to return a 10-for in an innings after Jim Laker (1956) and Anil Kumble (1999). (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel can well and truly call the Wankhede Stadium his home. Not only was he born in Mumbai, but on Saturday, he continued his love affair with the Wankhede pitch as he registered a five-wicket haul in India’s first innings of the third Test.
In December 2021, Ajaz became only the third bowler in Test history to return a 10-for in an innings 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.
That tally, quite incredibly, puts him in the top 10 list of wicket-takers in Test matches at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, better than many Indian legends. BS Chandrasekhar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Javagal Srinath are just a few of the famous names in the history of Indian bowling to have played more times at the iconic stadium and taken fewer wickets than Ajaz.
Ashwin (41 wickets in 12 innings) leads that chart, 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). Among non Indian cricketers, only Ian Botham is ahead of Ajaz now with 22 wickets in 4 innings. If Ajaz picks up a five-for again on Sunday, he could well equal Harbhajan’s tally.
“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.
A late collapse on Friday meant India resumed on 86-4, and Pant eased early nerves with a fine counterpunching innings. But post lunch, it was the Ajaz show. He got Sarfaraz Khan dismissed caught behind off Ajaz for a four-ball duck. The left-arm spinner then got Gill edge one to slip as he departed for a fluent 90. Ajaz removed Ashwin for six and finished with superb figures of 5-103.
