Who is Ajaz Patel? Stats & profile of Mumbai-born NZ star who picked up 10 wickets vs IND

December 4, 2021 will go down as the one to remember for New Zealand cricketer Ajaz Patel as well as the cricket fans around the world following his 10-wicket haul in an innings against India. The feat was earlier achieved by Jim Laker of England and Anil Kumble of India. Anil Kumble's 10 wickets came against Pakistan in 1999.

Before the record-breaking feat in Mumbai, Ajaz Patel had saved his team from going down 1-0 in the two-match Test series in Kanpur single-handedly ran through the Indian batting line up making him just the third person in history to do so. Let's take a look at other details of Ajaz Patel.

Where was Ajaz Patel born?

Ajaz Patel was born in Mumbai but moved to New Zealand in 1996. According to a report in sportstar his father worked in the refrigeration business, while his mother was a school teacher. The family has its roots in the Tankaria village in the Bharuch district.

Ajaz Patel journey in New Zealand cricket

Talking about Ajaz Patel's New Zealand cricket career, the Indian-born cricketer had been performing really well in domestic cricket, due to which he has been able to mark his place in the national side. Patel played an important role in the success of Central Stags in 2018, helping them win the domestic title by picking up 48 wickets at 21.52.

The 33-year-old first received a call-up to the New Zealand Test side in 2018 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. He is the fifth Indian-origin cricketer to play for New Zealand after Ted Badcock, Tom Puna, Ish Sodhi and Jeet Raval.

Ajaz Patel stats

The 33-year-old left-arm spinner has played 11 Test matches for New Zealand, in which he has taken 38 wickets in total. He has also played 7 T20I matches for the Kiwis, picking up 7 wickets.

Ajaz Patel picks up 10 wickets vs India

On Friday, Ajaz Patel had dismissed Shubman Gill, Team India skipper Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Shreyas Iyer to finish with four wickets on Day 1 of the Indian vs New Zeland 2nd Test. The left-arm spinner dismissed Wriddhiman Saha to complete his 5-wicket haul on Saturday after trapping him LBW in the second over of the day. In the very next ball, Ajaz Patel cleaned up Ravichandran Ashwin with a peach of a delivery.

Mayank Agarwal and Axar Patel did build up a good partnership but the partnership was broken by Ajaz Patel when he had Agarwal caught by Tom Blundell behind the stumps. After Agarwal's wicket, Axar Patel went on to complete his maiden half-century in Test cricket. However, his stay ended too when Ajaz Patel got him LBW. The initial appeal was turned down by the umpire but New Zealand decided to take DRS to successfully review it.

The left-arm spinner picked up his 9th wicket when he had Jayant Yadav caught by Rachin Ravindra and picked up his historic 10th when he had Mohammed Siraj dismissed as well.