IND vs NZ: Ajaz Patel gets emotional, says 'Grateful to God'

IND vs NZ LIVE: Ajaz Patel- New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel expressed happiness after he became the only third bowler in history to scalp all 10 wickets in a Test inning. The Mumbai-born cricketer got very emotional after meeting his loved ones. He said it was a special moment for him. He achieved the feat against India during the second Test match here at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Follow India vs New Zealand LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN

IND vs NZ LIVE: Ajaz Patel gets very emotional, says ‘grateful to God’ after 10-wicket haul

IND vs NZ LIVE: Ajaz Patel becomes only third bowler to scalp all 10 wickets in Test innings- As it happened; Check pics

“After I came off the field things took place very quickly. These kinds of things don’t really sink in too late. Obviously, it’s a special moment. I am not gonna lie about it. It is special for me. I met my family, my mom and dad, wife. It’s neither easy being a cricketer, spending a lot of time away from home,” said Ajaz Patel during a virtual press conference.

“Coming back home to Mumbai, to Wankhede and producing something like this is quite special. I am grateful to God that he blessed me with such an occasion,” he added.

“Personally, it’s one of the greatest cricketing days of my life and it probably will always be,” Patel said at the end of the day.

“From the team’s perspective, we put ourselves in a tough position. We have to front up tomorrow and work as hard as possible and see if we can turn the game around or eke out something special,” Patel admitted.

“After I came off the field, things happened too quickly. These things don’t sink in until later. It’s brilliant for me, my family and my wife. You spend a lot of time away from home as a cricketer and I’m just grateful to God for this occasion. It’s very special for me.”
He felt humbled by Kumble’s tweet and was grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah, I remember his ten-for. I have seen highlights of that game plenty of times. Very illustrious group to be a part of. Great to see his message and his kind words. Humbled and fortunate to be in that company.”

So did at any point 10-for cross his mind during the early stages of the Indian innings?

“No, not quite. I knew there was work to do. I wanted to get up on the honours board. I told myself yesterday that my name was going to be on the honours board but for it to happen was special.”

There was an entire gamut of emotions that he felt when Rachin Ravindra went underneath the aerial ball at mid-on.

“It was a nervous time. We backed Rachin to take it but the ball wobbled and we were all nervous.

“I told Neil Wagner, during drinks, that I was more nervous now than I was all game. We don’t have these moments as cricketers often. It was special that it came in Mumbai,” he sounded emotional, as his extended family still stays in Mumbai suburb Jogeshwari.

For Patel, it’s the “beauty of Test cricket” that on a day he got the best figures for a New Zealand bowler, his team were shot out for just 62.

“Things can flip and one session can change the game. But we’re still in the game and the second innings is still left.

“It’s about looking forward to tomorrow and doing the right things again. I have a lot of messages to respond to but I’ll leave it for the quarantine on my way back home,” he said.

Unlike Javagal Srinath who bowled wides to facilitate Kumble’s 10th wicket (Wasim Akram), Patel said that he had no such discussions with any of his teammates and would have been happy with even nine wickets.

“No talk of that sort. It doesn’t 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 job.”

He doesn’t play white ball games for New Zealand but this 10-for will certainly make him popular with the Indian audience considering that his team is always held in high esteem.
Can this translate into an IPL contract? Patel doesn’t want to look that far.

“Oh, if I could get a contract, I would be lucky. But I haven’t looked that far ahead. Playing for New Zealand is all I can think of doing. Whatever happens later on, we can worry about it later,” he concluded.

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IND vs NZ LIVE: Talking about Day 2, the spinner said he is hopeful that his side will turn up the game and achieve victory.

“This is what makes Test cricket so exciting. Things can flip very quickly. It just takes one session to change the match, so we are still in the game and have the second innings to go and will be looking forward to tomorrow’s game,” said Ajaz Patel.

The Mumbai-born 34-year-old left-arm spinner was elated for his exceptional show as he became only the third bowler in Test history to return a 10-for in an innings after Jim Laker (1956) and Anil Kumble (1999) and that too in the city of his birth.

“Personally, it’s one of the greatest cricketing days of my life and it probably will always be,” Patel said at the end of the day .

IND vs NZ LIVE: Ajaz Patel gets very emotional, says ‘Grateful to God’ after 10-wicket haul

Coming to the match, it was a wicket galore at the Wankhede Stadium on Day 2 as India and New Zealand bowlers scalped 16 wickets in total after which hosts find themselves on the top of the ongoing second Test here at Mumbai.

After the end of Day 2 play, India’s score in the second innings read 69/0 with Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara unbeaten on the field with innings of 38* and 29* respectively. Hosts now lead Kiwis by 332.

IND vs NZ LIVE: Ajaz Patel gets very emotional, says ‘grateful to God’ after 10-wicket haul

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