GREATEST CRICKETING DAY OF MY LIFE: AJAZ

Mumbai, Dec. 4: You can’t really improve upon perfection and New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel knows that his phenomenal effort of taking 10 wickets in a Test innings will remain his most precious performance on his greatest cricketing day.

“Personally, it’s one of the greatest cricketing days of my life and it probably will always be,” Patel said at the end of the day .

“From the team’s perspective, we put ourselves in a tough position. We have to front up tomorrow and work as hard as possible and see if we can turn the game around or eke out something special,” Patel admitted.

It will still take some time to sink in and before he could savour it, the Indian bowlers devoured on their batters. So has it sunk in yet? “Not really,” he said with a smile.

“After I came off the field, things happened too quickly. These things don’t sink in until later. It’s brilliant for me, my family and my wife. You spend a lot of time away from home as a cricketer and I’m just grateful to God for this occasion. It’s a very special for me.”

He felt humbled by Kumble’s tweet and was grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah, I remember his ten-for. I have seen highlights of that game plenty of times. Very illustrious group to be a part of. Great to see his message and his kind words. Humbled and fortunate to be in that company.”

Honestly, it’s surreal and to be able to do that in my career is pretty special. The stars have aligned for me to do it in Mumbai. Quite a special occasion for me and not just me but my family.

— AJAZ PATEL after achieving the rare feat

So did at any point 10-for cross his mind during the early stages of the Indian innings?

“No, not quite. I knew there was work to do. I wanted to get up on the honours board. I told myself yesterday that my name was going to be on the honours board but for it to happen was special.”

There was an entire gamut of emotions that he felt when Rachin Ravindra went underneath the aerial ball at mid-on.

“It was a nervous time. We backed Rachin to take it but the ball wobbled and we were all nervous.

“I told Neil Wagner, during drinks, that I was more nervous now than I was all game. We don’t have these moments as cricketers often. It was special that it came in Mumbai,” he sounded emotional, as his extended family still stays in Mumbai suburb Jogeshwari.

For Patel, it’s the “beauty of Test cricket” that on a day he got the best figures for a New Zealand bowler, his team were shot out for just 62.