The Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gifted a jersey to the Kiwi left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for his historical feat in the Wankhede test match, where he dismissed 10 Indian batsmen all by himself in the first innings of the game.
It was only the third occasion in the 144-year history of test cricket that a bowler dismissed an opposition team all by himself without any wicket-taking contribution from any other bowler. The last time it had happened was in the previous century, when the former Indian captain Anil Kumble had pulled it off against Pakistan in 1999.
Although Ajaz Patel ended on the losing side because of the disappointing performance of the New Zealand batsmen, the Indian team sent out a jersey to Ajaz through Ashwin, with the autograph of every single Indian player on the jersey.
The Indian team had done something like this earlier this year in Australia as well, when they had gifted Nathan Lyon a signed jersey after beating Australia in the Gabba test match. Lyon’s individual performance in the Gabba test match wasn’t great, but the Indian team had gifted him the jersey because it was his 100th test match.
As far as Ajaz is concerned, he has a special bond with India and particularly with Mumbai, simply because it’s his place of birth and it’s the city where he spent a part of his childhood before his parents shifted to New Zealand. With a 10-wicket haul in one innings, Ajaz’s name is now etched in the history of the Wankhede stadium forever.
Jersey of Ajaz Patel will be kept in the museum of MCA
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) also gifted Ajaz a momento and the Kiwi spinner, in return, gifted his match jersey to the association, which they will now keep in the association’s museum, marked as a memory of the historical performance of Ajaz.
Ajaz Patel, speaking at the end of the second day of the game, had said he wanted his name on the honors board of the Wankhede stadium after he got 4 wickets on the first day. A fifer would have been enough to get Ajaz’s name on the board, but with a 10-wicket haul in one innings, not only did Ajaz get his name on the honors board, he made sure his jersey would now have a special place in the museum of MCA.
This performance can now be a turnaround for the international career of Ajaz Patel, which wasn’t really sparkling before the Mumbai test match.
You just cannot miss this 🗣️ 🎥@ashwinravi99 & @AjazP in one frame 👍 👍
AdvertisementStay tuned for this folks ⌛
Interview coming up soon on https://t.co/Z3MPyesSeZ#TeamIndia #INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/mCzzMuQ7aZ
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 6, 2021
Advertisement
