Ajaz Patel: Greatest day of my life

When Jayant Yadav holed out to New Zealandrsquos Rachin Ravindra at longoff the chants from the boisterous Wankhede Stadium crowd were ldquodeclare India declare KohlirdquoTeam India fans did not want any other bowler to take 10 wickets in an innings apart from their very own Anil Kumble against Pakistan at the Kotla in 1999 Jim Laker was the first to do the unbelievablemdashagainst Australiamdashin the English summer of 1956Anil Kumble 1074However when New Zealandrsquos leftarm spinner Ajaz Patel got the final Indian wicket of Mohammed Siraj to claim all 10 wickets and surpass Sir Richard Hadlee 952 to register the best bowling figures by a New Zealand bowler in Test cricket there wasnrsquot a soul at Wankhede who stayed away from giving him a standing ovation A huge roar and pumped fists were part of Ajazrsquos celebrationChants of ldquoAjaz Patelrdquo reverberated at the Wankhede until the Kiwi spinner went off the field ldquoPersonally itrsquos one of the greatest cricketing days of my life and it probably will always be Itrsquos very special for me my family and my wiferdquo said a beaming Ajaz during the media interaction after the second dayrsquos playAlso Read Jogeshwari boy Ajaz Patel becomes third Test cricketer to take all 10 wicketsJim Laker 1053It was stuff of dreams for Ajaz Born in Mumbairsquos Jogeshwari area arrived in New Zealand in 1996 dressed in a little suit blazer and hat Playing his first match in the city he often comes for on holidays Ajaz couldnrsquot have asked for a better memory than this The record feat at Wankhede has made Mumbai an extraspecial place for himldquoMumbai is very close to his heart Ajo as he is fondly called in the family loves everything about our city the street food especially He just relishes pav bhaji paani puri and vada pav The entire family is very proud of what he has achieved todayrdquo Ajazrsquos Mumbaibased cousin Owais who witnessed his 473 on Day One on Friday told Sunday middaySpecial feelingAjaz never dreamt about taking all 10 wickets His only aim was to get his name on the Wankhedersquos honours board with a fivewicket haul ldquoI wanted to get on the honours board I told myself yesterday Friday that my name was going to be on the honours board For it to happen was specialrdquo he said When Ajaz snared two consecutive wicketsmdashWriddhiman Saha and R Ashwinmdashin his first over of Day Two the expectations of claiming all 10 wickets got stronger He kissed the Wankhede turf after getting a fifer with the wicket of SahaThough Ajaz was erratic at times with his line and length he completely stamped his authority while bowling from the University Ground end He made the ball dip and drift a bit The pitch too assisted him and provided him opportunities which the other Kiwi bowlers could not manageBowling in four spellsmdashthe first being 24 overs on the trot Ajaz conceded 119 runs in 475 overs that included 12 maidens in the first innings whereas the other five Kiwi bowlers leaked 188 runs When Kumble claimed his 10 wickets Javagal Srinath had revealed that he purposely bowled wide from the other end In Ajazrsquos case there wasnrsquot any such planldquoNo talk of that sort It doesnrsquot matter who gets the wickets I would have been happy had I got nine and someone else took one It was really about making sure we did our jobrdquo said AjazNervous momentAjaz admitted enduring a very nervous moment when Sirajrsquos slog went high in the air before Ravindra pouched it safely ldquoIt was a nervous time We backed Rachin to take it the catch but the ball wobbled and we were all nervous I told Neil Wagner during the drinks break that I was more nervous then than I was all game We donrsquot have these moments as cricketers often It was special that it came in Mumbairdquo Ajaz concludedTweet talkSachin Tendulkarsachin_rtCongratulations AjazPatel on picking 10 wickets in an innings in Test cricket Achieving this rare feat at home away from home is truly special INDvNZRavi ShastriRaviShastriOfcOne of the toughest things to do in the game of cricket To have an entire team in your kitty in an innings is too good to be true Simply unreal Well done young man Ajaz Patel INDvzNZ AjazPatelVVS LaxmanVVSLaxman281Sensational Just sensational To take all 10 wickets in a Test innings is the stuff dreams are made of Take a bow Ajaz Patel you are in the elite company of Jim Laker and Anil kumble And to do it in the city of your birth wowHarbhajan Turbanatorharbhajan_singhAjaz Patel This will be remembered forever 4751211910 simply outstandingLet me stand and clapSuresh RainaImRainaTruely phenomenal AjazPatel congratulations on such a power packed performance amp making it to the list INDvNZ 10wicketsDinesh KarthikDineshKarthikAll of the world and he does the unthinkable in the city he was born Some things are just beyond coincidencewell done AjazPatelAaron FinchAaronFinch5Thatrsquos the most amazing thing Irsquove ever seen Ajaz Patelhellipwhat a phenomenal performanceVirender SehwagvirendersehwagOne of the most difficult things to achieve in the game A day to remember for the rest of your life AjazPatelAlso Read Wankhede Test Day 2 Siraj bags three wickets as New Zealand 386 at tea