Ajaz Patel becomes 1st player in history to create unwanted record despite 10-wicket haul

New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel scripted history during India vs New Zealand, the final Test match of the two-match series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, by becoming the third player in history following Anil Kumble and Jim Laker to clinch all ten wickets in an innings. However, the 33-year-old spinner also found his name in an unwanted list of records following India’s victory by 372 runs at Wankhede. Ajaz became the first player in the history of cricket to end up on the losing side of a Test match despite taking all 10 wickets in an innings. 

Kapil Dev was the last cricketer to lose a match despite picking nine wickets in an innings

Meanwhile, legendary Indian skipper Kapil Dev was the last person to lose a Test match, despite returning with the figure of 9/83 in an innings against the West Indies. Kapil Dev removed nine Caribbean batters during the second innings of the India vs West Indies Test at Ahmedabad in 1983, however, India went on to face a defeat of 138 runs in the match. Coming back to the 2021 Wankhede Test, Ajaz dismissed the entire Indian batting line-up in the first innings of the Wankhede Test and restricted them to the score of 325 runs. However, Ajaz’s celebrations of the historic feat were short-lived as India bowled out the entire Kiwi batting line-up for the below-par score of 62 runs in the second innings of the match. 

Ajaz Patel finished the Wankhede Test with the match figures of 14/225

India opted against the Kiwis following on, and scored 276 runs in the third innings of the match, setting a target of 540 runs for New Zealand in the process. Patel removed four batters in India’s second batting innings and finished the match with the figures of 14/225. His performance is the second-best bowling figure in a Test match, as he found himself former Kiwi bowler Richard Hadlee, who returned with the match figures of 15/123. Batting in the fourth innings of the match, the Kiwi batting lineup struggled against yet another clinical performance of the Indian bowling line-up as they were restricted for the total score of 167 runs after losing all wickets. India went on to win the match by 372 runs and the two-match series 1-0, as Ajaz Patel found his name in the unwanted list of records despite his historic feat.

Image: AP