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India have made a sensational comeback on Day 3 of the Kanpur Test, thanks to some brilliant bowling from Axar Patel. The left-arm spinner came to India’s aid with his fifth fifer of the calendar year in his seventh innings to create an Indian record in the format. Patel became the first left-arm spinner to take five five-wicket hauls in a calendar year in Test cricket in India.
Playing in his fourth Test, Axar has taken second-fewest innings to register five five-wicket hauls in Test cricket. The spin-bowling all-rounder shares the second spot with Charlie Turner of Australia and Tom Richardson of England. Only Rodney Hogg of Australia took fewer innings to register five fifers in a Test match. The former Aussie fast bowler took just six innings to reach the mark.
Patel has taken 32 wickets in his Test career so far. The southpaw has a chance to create history in Test cricket as he can break England bowler Charlie Turner's 144-year-old record. Turner was the fastest to 50 Test wickets achieving the feat in just six Test in a year and 215 days' time. For India, the fastest to 50 Test wickets is Ravichandran Ashwin who reached the mark in his ninth Test.
The Gujarat-born spinner was lethal on Day 3 as he first dismissed Ross Taylor in the second session. He wasn’t done there and ran riot on a wicket that kept low. He wrecked Kiwi middle-order to complete his fifer. He also got the set batter Tom Latham stump out to push the visitors on the back foot.
While Patel has taken only seven innings to register five fifers, Ravindra Jadeja hasn’t managed to do so in his last 26 innings on home soil. Interestingly, there are some encouraging signs for the spinners as nine of the ten wickets in New Zealand innings were taken by spinners while only two Indian batters fell to the Kiwi spinners.
