Picture Credit: BCCI
Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has gifted his jersey signed by all the Team India players to New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel after the latter finished the match with a record haul of 14 wickets. Even though India claimed a comfortable victory in the second Test match against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium, Ajaz Patel hogged the limelight with his spectacular performance.
Ajaz Patel became only the 3rd bowler in Test history to pick all 10 wickets in an innings. The Mumbai-born spinner took 14 wickets for 225 runs, which are the best bowling figures in a Test in India. Before Ajaz, the two other bowlers to pick 10 wickets in a Test innings were Jim Laker in 1956 against Australia and Anil Kumble in 1999 against Pakistan.
After the post-match presentation, players from both the sides were seen interacting with each other. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a picture of spin duo, Ashwin and Ajaz on social media. Notably, Ashwin is seen gifting the signed jersey to the Ajaz in the pics shared by the BCCI.
Ashwin even congratulated Ajaz Patel on social media after the match for his excetional spin bowling. He also praised 'Player of the Match' Mayank Agarwal for his outstanding batting. The off-spinner captioned the post," A series win over the world champs ! Feels great to win a test at the Wankhede always. A fab innings by @mayankcricket and great bowling performance by @AjazP. A special thanks to the @NorthStandGang for their support through the game."
MCA felicitates Ajaz Patel for his special feat
Mumbai Cricket Association chief Vijay Patil also felicitated New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel after the match. Ajaz was presented with a score sheet and a memento to mark the special occasion. Meanwhile, the Mumbai-born spinner donated a ball and a tee for the proposed MCA museum.
Patel said after the match, "It's a special occasion for me and my family. To be able to do that [10-for] is special. I'm knackered but I'll use my quarantine time to recover. It's a different challenge to bowl back home, that's the beauty of Test cricket, it's about adapting your game plan and bowling accordingly. To be honest, I still don't know how to put the 10-for into words. I'm trying to absorb it, been flooded with hundreds and thousands of messages. It's overwhelming at the moment."