Ind vs Nz: Ajaz Patel bags another Test five-fer; Third against India

Ajaz Patel once again starred for New Zealand in the third and final Test of the three-match series by claiming superb figures of 5-103 to restrict India to 263. The 36-year-old got to the milestone by removing Ashwin on the last ball of the 58th over when he had him caught by Daryl Mitchell in the first slip. 

Ajaz has a special bond with the city of Mumbai. Known to be his birthplace, Ajaz had previously performed well at the Wankhede. The left-arm spinner recorded his career-best 10-wicket haul in the second match of the 2021 Test series against India where he claimed all 10 wickets to equal Anil Kumble & Jim Laker’s record. Unfortunately, New Zealand went on to lose that Test match by a whopping 372 runs.

A short summary of his performance in the ongoing third Test

This is Ajaz Patel’s sixth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. All six of them have come on Asian soil including two apiece in India & Sri Lanka and one each in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The crafty left-arm spinner enjoys bowling in the Indian subcontinent and thrives in these helpful conditions. India has been a happy hunting ground for him since as many as 26 out of 79 Test wickets in Asia have registered on Indian soil. Surprisingly, the Mumbai-born spinner has never picked up a wicket on his home turf in New Zealand. 

See Also: Pant and Gill hit fifties to drive India forward in Mumbai

Speaking of his performance in the third Test, Ajaz managed to pick up five wickets at the expense of 103 runs while going at a little over 4.5 RPO. Jaiswal, Siraj, Gill, Sarfaraz, and Ashwin were among his five victims. In his nearly 22 overs long spell, the 34-year-old bowled three maidens and got the ball to bite off the surface on regular occasions. His double-wicket over late in the day on day one swung the momentum of the game dramatically in favor of the visitors.  

At the time of writing, the game was nicely set up for the two sides as, despite Ajaz’s heroics with the ball, India were able to eke out a crucial lead of 28 runs.