3rd Test: Being back at Wankhede is ‘quite emotional’ for New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel

Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) As members of the New Zealand cricket team walked into the ground at the Wankhede Stadium for a practice session on Wednesday morning, left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel was among the first few to walk to the pitch and had a very close look at it.

He has all the reasons to do so because Mumbai holds a special place in his heart. Not because he was born in the Maximum City and migrated to New Zealand at the age of eight and visits it occasionally because his wife hails from the city and his extended family still lives in Mumbai. But Patel’s reason is more personal — Wankhede is the venue of his greatest performance in Test cricket.

It was at the Wankhede Stadium that Patel became only the third cricketer in the history of the sport to bag all 10 wickets in an innings, joining the legendary Jim Laker of England and India’s Anil Kumble to achieve the feat. That performance of 10/119 in December 2021 is his best in a Test so far.

As he returned to the venue of his greatest achievement, it was all but natural for the 36-year-old spinner to have a nostalgic look at the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium and hope for an encore when he takes the field for the third and final Test of the ongoing series, which starts on Friday.

On Wednesday, Patel said being back in Mumbai is quite emotional for him and he is looking forward to doing his best at the venue again.

“Yeah, certainly emotional. I mean, I guess being back in Mumbai is always quite special. It’s a place to call home as well. So having the opportunity to play out here again is quite special. To be honest, after my 10-fer, I wasn’t sure whether I’d get another opportunity to play out here again throughout my career. So I’m very grateful that the BCCI have scheduled the game out here and I get to be back home again for a little while,” Patel said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

However, that Test match three years ago and his figures of 14/225 have not done anything great for Patel’s career and nor has the left-arm orthodox spinner made many waves since as he goes into Friday’s Test match with 74 wickets in 20 matches. And at 36, Patel is not getting any younger nor has he got a lot of years to play.

Since that 2021 match at Wankhede, Patel has played only nine more Tests, claiming 27 wickets in these games. Of these 27 wickets, 14 wickets came in against Bangladesh (Sylhet and Mirpur) in December 2023 and 8/150 against Sri Lanka at Galle in September 2024. He says things have not changed much for him and he certainly doesn’t get mobbed at the shopping malls back home or even in India.

“No, to be honest, I don’t think it’s changed too much. It’s still very much the same. I guess after the 10-fer, I hadn’t really had as many opportunities to play. But at the same time, I mean, when you do get an opportunity to play, it’s very special and you’re playing for your nation, you’re playing for your country, so every time you get that opportunity, it’s very, very special. So, you never take it for granted.

“But yeah, I guess, you know, you get recognised a little bit more here and there. But certainly, the craze for the sport, say, is probably not the same as India in terms of the context of the number of people that are watching the sport. I mean, New Zealand is a massive supporting nation. We love our sport and everyone gets around every sport, whether it be cricket, rugby, football, or soccer. We’re a small place but we like to try and achieve beyond our means when it comes to sport. So anytime someone’s playing sport, we’re in and around them,” he said.

In this present series in India, Patel has claimed 2/100 and 2/97 in Bengaluru and Pune, respectively. So going into the Mumbai Test, there are a lot of expectations from Patel, but the bowler is unfazed and says all he is looking forward to is trying his best in the next Test.

–IANS

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