Twitter Reactions: India on top in Mumbai Test despite Ajaz Patel's record 10-fer in 1st innings

New Zealand could muster only 62 runs in their first essay.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

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2 Min Read

Indian cricket team
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Indian cricket team. (Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI)

India are on top in the ongoing second Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. They were bundled out for 325 runs in the first innings courtesy a stunning 10-wicket haul from Ajaz Patel. The left-arm spinner became only the third bowler in international cricket to achieve the rare feat. But the New Zealand camp wasn’t the happiest for long as India skittled them out for just 62 runs in their first innings and then came out to bat again in their second essay.

After Ajaz Patel’s heroics with the ball, Mohammed Siraj set the stage on fire with the new ball. He breathed fire with his each delivery and sent back Will Young, Tom Latham and Ross Taylor. Of the three wickets, the ball that uprooted that Taylor’s off-stump was an absolute peach from the pacer. Once New Zealand were reduced to 17/3, the Indian spinners – Axar Patel, Ravi Ashwin and Jayant Yadav – got their act together.

The Kiwi batters literally looked clueless on a pitch which wasn’t a minefield by any means. Ashwin was close to unplayable picking up four wickets conceding just 8 runs in as many overs while Axar continued to impress as he returned with the figures of 2/14 with Jayant picking up a wicket off his first ball as well.

New Zealand were bundled out for 62 runs in just 28.1 overs, their lowest total against India in Tests. Their bowlers, especially Ajaz Patel, had worked hard earlier in the day only to find themselves on the field in a couple of hours bowling again with a huge deficit.

No wonder they looked tired even as India opened with a new pair of Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara with Shubman Gill getting injured while fielding. The opening duo blunted the ball with confidence to make sure no wicket fell for the rest of the day. Pujara was under pressure to save his place as well and opening the innings might have just worked wonders for him.

His intent was good right from the outset and also smacked a six. Agarwal was compact in his technique yet again making sure he continued from where he left off in the first innings. India ended the day on 69/0 with Pujara on 29 while Agarwal was not-out on 38 as they stretched the team’s lead to 332 runs.

Ajaz Patel creates history

Earlier in the day, it was all about Ajaz Patel. The hosts resumed on 221/4 and lost their six wickets for just 104 runs. Agarwal once again looked good notching up 150. However, the left-arm spinner’s heroics kind of overshadowed his efforts. Ajaz bowled superbly testing the defenses of the batters and picked up all 10 wickets of the innings.

His magical figures read 47.2-12-115-10 to become the first ever bowler to pick the first 10 wickets of the game ever. But little did he know that he would be bowling again due to New Zealand batters’ lacklustre show in the first innings.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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