The
shift
and
switch
both
worked
wonders
as
he
became
only
the
third
bowler
in
Test
cricket’s
144-year-long
history
to
take
all
10
wickets
in
an
innings.
A
fast
bowler
growing
up,
the
late
bloomer’s
talents
became
apparent
only
after
he
started
bowling
spin.
Standing
at
5
feet
6
inches,
he
realised
he
wasn’t
quite
going
to
make
it
as
a
pacer,
which
explained
the
switch
to
spin
in
his
20s,
years
after
his
parents
emigrated
to
New
Zealand.
Ajaz
Patel
emotional
after
10-wicket
haul:
‘Stars
have
aligned
for
me
to
make
history’
When
the
Patels
left
their
house
in
the
city’s
Jogeshwari
area
for
New
Zealand
in
1996,
he
was
only
eight
years
old.
In
the
new
environs,
he
fell
in
love
with
the
game
and
worked
towards
earning
a
name
for
himself.
“Simply
unreal”.
Former
India
coach
Ravi
Shastri
best
summed
up
Ajaz’s
10-wicket
haul
while
representing
New
Zealand
against
his
native
country
in
the
second
Test
at
his
birth
place.
By
picking
all
10
wickets,
the
Mumbai-born
Ajaz
on
Saturday
joined
Jim
Laker
and
Anil
Kumble.
He
also
surpassed
the
great
Richard
Hadlee
to
record
the
best
figures
by
a
New
Zealand
bowler.
Hadlee
had
taken
nine
for
52
versus
Australia
back
in
1985.
Ajaz
Patel
bags
10
wickets
in
an
innings;
joins
Anil
Kumble,
Jim
Laker
in
historic
feat
The
rise
to
prominence
is
nothing
short
of
spectacular
for
the
man,
who
has
had
no
qualms
admitting
that
his
“hands
were
shaking”
with
nervousness
when
he
was
first
handed
the
ball
in
Test
cricket.
The
cricket
fraternity
was
quick
to
laud
the
incredible
achievement
of
the
33-year-old
left-arm
spinner,
and
so
were
his
family
members
who
still
live
in
Jogeshwari.
Ajaz’s
family
owns
a
house
in
Jogeshwari.
His
mother
used
to
teach
at
a
school
near
Oshiwara,
while
his
father
was
in
the
refrigeration
business.
“It’s
a
proud
moment
for
the
entire
family.
We
were
expecting
a
good
performance
but
this
is
exceptional.
It’s
sad
that
I
couldn’t
be
at
the
ground
to
watch
this
feat
live.
I
had
work
and
had
to
come
to
office
and
I
watched
in
on
TV,”
Owais
Patel,
Ajaz’s
elder
cousin
who
lives
here,
told
PTI.
“Our
families
are
very
close
and
only
last
year,
we
had
visited
them
in
New
Zealand.
I
have
spoken
to
him
after
he
landed
in
Mumbai.
Still
not
sure
but
plan
to
meet
him
after
the
Test
match,”
he
added.
Before
the
COVID-19
pandemic
struck,
Ajaz’s
family
would
often
spend
their
holidays
in
India.
Thanks
to
his
former
Kiwi
teammate
and
Mumbai
Indians
pacer
Mitchell
McClenaghan,
he
would
would
often
come
to
watch
the
team’s
Indian
Premier
League
matches
at
the
Wankhede
Stadium
and
has
also
bowled
to
them
on
a
few
occasions.
Ajaz
extracted
sharp
turn
and
bounce
from
the
pitch
and
carried
the
New
Zealand
bowling
on
his
shoulders
to
restrict
the
home
team’s
first
innings
total
to
325.
As
he
went
about
running
through
the
Indian
batting
line-up
with
his
guile,
turn
and
accuracy,
some
of
his
family
members
were
cheering
for
him
from
the
stands.
Ajaz
Patel
takes
10
wickets
in
an
innings:
Anil
Kumble,
Shastri,
Doull,
Finch
hail
NZ
spinner
Long
before
he
got
to
savour
his
biggest
moment
in
the
game,
it
was
former
New
Zealand
spinner
Dipak
Patel,
who
encouraged
him
to
leave
pace
and
take
up
spin
bowling.
Dipak
was
then
the
coach
of
the
New
Zealand
U-19
team.
In
New
Zealand,
Ajaz
began
his
career
with
Auckland,
but
it
was
only
after
he
made
a
move
to
Central
Districts
that
the
player
started
to
showcase
his
skills.
Ajaz
played
for
Auckland
A
without
much
success,
and
then,
moved
to
Central
Districts,
where
he
was
fast
tracked
into
first
class
cricket
and
made
his
debut
in
2012.
He
made
his
T20
debut
also
in
the
same
year
but
had
to
wait
for
three
more
years
to
play
50-over
cricket.
His
rise
in
international
cricket
was
built
on
success
at
the
domestic
level.
Ajaz
kept
on
taking
wickets
consistently
and
he
was
finally
rewarded
with
a
New
Zealand
call-up
in
2018
after
16
five-fors
and
three
10-wicket
hauls.
It
came
after
a
lot
of
hard
work
and
intense
competition
from
the
likes
of
the
already
established
Mitchell
Santner
and
Ish
Sodhi.
But
once
he
found
his
footing
in
the
top-flight,
he
was
on
his
way.
