Ajaz’s big day marred by batting debacle

Being only the third cricketer ever to take all 10 wickets in an innings, Ajaz Patel had every reason to celebrate his heart out and cherish every moment of the day. But that couldn’t quite be, as world Test champions New Zealand came up with one of their most spineless performances ever with the bat.

On what certainly was one of Ajaz’s greatest days in his three-year-old international career, his teammates came a cropper before the opposition bowlers, allowing India absolute control of the second and final Test at the Wankhede in Mumbai.

Resuming Day II on 221/4, India looked well placed to reach at least 350 with a ton-up Mayank Agarwal and a set Wriddhiman Saha at the crease. But Ajaz’s guile and discipline, which were the hallmark of his relentless spell, restricted India to 325, which by no means was a monumental total regardless of the extra bit of turn and bounce of the Wankhede surface. In fact, with Mayank (150) unable to add much to his overnight score, India would have struggled to get even that much if not for Axar Patel’s 52.

The Black Caps ought to have been in a better frame of mind, having denied India a big total. But what followed was unmitigated capitulation by stand-in captain Tom Latham and the rest of the batting group as they folded for 62, unable to surpass even Mayank and helping India take a huge first-innings lead of 263.

At stumps on Saturday, the new opening pair of Mayank and Cheteshwar Pujara (as Shubman Gill hurt his right elbow while fielding at forward short leg) helped India to reach 69 without loss in their second innings with the lead already 332.

The team management did not enforce the follow-on, preferring to give the batsmen, Pujara in particular, a fair bit of practice with ample time still left in the Test.

Siraj’s early burst

While applauding Ajaz’s feat, Ravichandran Ashwin too must have understood how effective he could be on that track. Expectedly, he finished with the best figures (4/8) among India’s bowlers, with New Zealand batsmen clueless regarding both the turning ball and the straighter one.

But it was the spell of pacer Mohammed Siraj (3/19),

who replaced an injured Ishant Sharma, which put New Zealand on the backfoot right away as they found themselves reeling at 17/3 inside the first six overs of their first innings. Working up good pace on a surface, Siraj bowled with a lot of fire and targeted the stumps, dismissing openers Will Young and Latham along with the prized scalp of Ross Taylor.

Agreed Taylor was undone by one that straightened after pitching on middle stump. But Latham threw his wicket away with an unnecessary shot while a little better technique was expected from Young, who perished at slip.

Skipper Kane Williamson’s absence is indeed a massive blow, but such a tame surrender is unbecoming of the No.1-ranked Test side.

• Ajaz Patel became the third bowler to take all 10 wickets in a Test innings and the first to do it in an away game
• He is the first left-arm bowler to achieve the feat
• Ajaz is also the first to take all 10 wickets in the city of his birth
  
• How’S that
  Ajaz’s Test figures are the best by any bowler against India, bettering the 9/95 by WI’s Jack Noreiga in Port of Spain in 1971
• The previous best figures by a New Zealander was the 9/52 by Richard Hadlee (Brisbane, 1985)
  
• The previous best figures by a NZ spinner — 7/87 by Stephen Boock (vs Pak in Hyderabad, 1984) and Daniel Vettori (vs Aus, in Auckland, 2000). Both, like Ajaz, were left-arm spinners
• The only other New Zealander to claim all ten wickets in an innings was Albert Moss,
  when he claimed 10/28, for Canterbury against Wellington in Christchurch in Dec. 1889, 132 years ago
  Mohandas Menon
  
• Ovs 27.3: Shubman Gill c Taylor b Ajaz 44, Gill’s attempted drive results in an outside edge that nestles into Taylor’s hands at slip. India 80/1.
  
• Ovs 29.2: Cheteshwar Pujara b Ajaz 0. Pujara comes down the track, but the flighted ball gives the bat a miss, spins away from leg stump to crash into the off-stump. India 80/2
  
• Ovs 29.6: Virat Kohli lbw Ajaz 0. A controversial decision. Kohli given lbw by on-field umpire, he goes for a review. Though replays show the ball hitting both the bat and pad, the TV umpire thinks there is no conclusive evidence of bat first and so upholds the on-field decision. India 80/3
  
• Ovs 47.4: Shreyas Iyer c Blundell b Ajaz 18. A slider with extra bounce, Shreyas inside edges it onto his thigh pad, the ball lobs up and ’keeper Blundell has an easy catch. India 160/4
  
• Ovs 71.4: Wriddhiman Saha lbw Ajaz 27 Saha tries to cut it on the backfoot, but misses length and ball hits knee roll. More or less plumb. India 224/5
  
• Ovs 71.5: Ravichandran Ashwin b Ajaz 0, Ashwin stretches forward to defend but fails to reach the ball and it spins away, beats the bat and kisses the
  off-stump. India 224/6
  
• Ovs 99.5: Mayank Agarwal c Blundell b Ajaz 150. Agarwal goes on backfoot but reads the length wrong, Ajaz gets enough drift for the ball to steal a thin edge and the ’keeper does the rest. India 291/7
  
• Ovs 107.5: Axar Patel lbw Ajaz 52. Axar pads up to one outside off, offers no shot. On-field umpire does not respond to Ajaz’s appeal, but
  reviews show the ball would have hit off stump. India 316/8
• Ovs 109.2: Jayant Yadav c Rachin b Ajaz 12. Jayant steps out and hits with the turn but gets the timing wrong and is caught at long-off. India 321/9
  
• Ovs 109.5: Mohammed Siraj c Rachin b Ajaz 4 Siraj’s attempted slog results in a top edge which Rachin Ravindra pockets at mid-on to give Ajaz
  his 10th victim of the innings. India 325/10
  
  
  
  

Others with a ‘perfect 10’

Jim Laker (Eng)10/53 vs Aus, Manchester, 1956
Anil Kumble (Ind) 10/74 vs Pak, Delhi, 1999