Ajaz Patel has become just the third player to take 10 wickets in an innings of a Test match as history has been written on multiple fronts for the New Zealand bowler. He joins Jim Laker of England and Anil Kumble of India to achieve the rear feat. It is the first time that the feat has taken place after the turn of the millennium.
The Mumbai-born player took 10 for 119 in the city of his birth on a day where bowlers were getting plenty of help. Ajaz has now joined a rear club of players. The feat last took place in February 1999 when Anil Kumble dismissed the entire Pakistan lineup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium (previously known as Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium).
The first man to reach the milestone was England’s Jim Laker when he took 10 wickets in an innings against Australia in an Ashes Test in July 1956. While Kumble took 10 for 74 against Pakistan, Laker gave away 53 runs to attend the record. Laker, therefore, holds the record for the best bowling figures in Test cricket. While 119 runs given away by Ajaz sees him rank third in the all-time best figures of Test cricket, behind Anil Kumble.
33-year-old Ajaz has also surpassed great Richard Hadlee for the best bowling figures by a New Zealand bowler. The previous best 9 for 52 against Australia at Brisbane in November 1985 set by Hadlee has now been overtaken by the spinner.
Stroke of Coincidence
The Indian cricket team is now involved in two such occasions of 10 wickets in an innings. The first time it happened was in February 1999 and now on the receiving end in December 2021.
Twice has the feat been achieved on Indian soil. The now Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi and Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium have witnessed the historic moment. Manchester’s Old Trafford is the only other destination to have seen this feat.
India head coach Rahul Dravid remains a common element, he was a member of the Indian team that defeated Pakistan in February 1999.
