The Kiwi spinner Ajaz Patel took the cricketing fraternity by storm as he claimed all 10-wickets in India’s first innings of the Mumbai Test. He achieved the rarest of the rare feat and became only the third player in the history of Test cricket to claim all the wickets of the opposition.
On Day 1 of the ongoing second Test match, Ajaz dismissed Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer before he returned to complete his 10-wicket-haul by sending back Wridhhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Mayank Agarwal, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj on Day 2. Picking a 10-wicket haul, Ajaz Patel has emulated Jim Laker and Anil Kumble in the elite list.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reacted to the “incredible achievement” and posted:
“Incredible achievement as Ajaz Patel picks up all 10 wickets in the 1st innings of the 2nd Test. He becomes the third bowler in the history of Test cricket to achieve this feat. #INDvNZ.”
Incredible achievement as Ajaz Patel picks up all 10 wickets in the 1st innings of the 2nd Test.
He becomes the third bowler in the history of Test cricket to achieve this feat.#INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/5iOsMVEuWq
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2021
Cricketers, experts, and pundits from around the world are showering praises on the Kiwi bowler for his terrific performance against the Indian cricket team. The latest one to join the bandwagon is former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi.
Pakistan’s legendary cricketer Shahid Afridi took to Twitter and wrote a special tweet dedicated to Ajaz Patel. In his Tweet, Afridi also recalled the memories of the 1999 Delhi Test, where Anil Kumble achieved this feat by picking 10 wickets of Pakistan’s cricket team, including the prized wicket of Shahid Afridi.
Shahid Afridi recalled how he was about to score his second century when he was dismissed by Anil Kumble, as he picked his 10-wicket haul. He wrote:
“Great work Ajaz!! Congratulations on a wonderful feat, I still have some memories of the 1999 Delhi Test – outstanding spell by Kumble, I was going to score my second 100 when I was given out”
Here, check out the Tweet of Shahid Afridi:
Great work Ajaz!! Congratulations on a wonderful feat, I still have some memories of the 1999 Delhi Test – outstanding spell by Kumble, I was going to score my second 100 when I was given out ? #INDvzNZ
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) December 4, 2021
For the unversed, before Ajaz Patel, India’s Anil Kumble was the last man to achieve this feat. It was during a match against Pakistan in 1999 when the former India captain dismissed all 10 Pakistan batters in a Test match at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. It took two decades for a bowler to achieve this rarest feat again.
