Ajaz Patel claims his sixth five-wicket haul in Tests: Stats
New Zealand's left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel has once again proved his class at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. On the second day of the ongoing third Test against India, Patel picked his second consecutive five-wicket haul at the venue. It is the sixth time in his Test career that he has taken five wickets in an innings. Notably, all of Patel's five-wicket hauls have come in Asia.
A fine spell from Patel
Despite a mediocre outing in the first two Test matches, where he picked just four wickets, Patel raised his game at Wankhede. He sent Yashasvi Jaiswal and night watchman Mohammed Siraj back on Day 1 of the third Test. Day 2 saw Patel, despite Rishabh Pant's aggressive start, dismissing Sarfaraz Khan and Shubman Gill (90), before sending Ravichandran Ashwin back to complete his five-wicket haul. His efforts meant India were restricted to 263/10.
Patel's heroics in 2021 Wankhede Test
In the 2021 Wankhede Test, Patel made history by taking all 10 wickets against India in their first innings. The left-arm spinner returned with figures of 10/119, marking the third-best bowling figures in a Test innings. He did not receive any support from the other end. Despite his remarkable performance, New Zealand lost the match by a substantial margin of 372 runs.
Fifer for Patel
Patel was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers claiming 5/103 across 21.4 overs. He has now raced to 79 wickets from 21 Tests at an average of 30.75. He claimed his 6th five-wicket haul. As per ESPNcricinfo, in six matches versus India, Patel owns 26 scalps at 26.92. This was his second fifer against the opposition.
How has the game proceeded?
India bowled out New Zealand for 235 runs on the opening day. Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (82) smoked fifties. Ravindra Jadeja claimed his 14th five-wicket haul in Test cricket while Washington Sundar also chipped in with four wickets. The hosts made a solid response and finished at 263/10 thanks to fifties from Gill (90) and Pant (60). Notably, the Kiwis are 2-0 up in the series.
