Ajaz Patel's Perfect 10: A Historic Innings That Etched His Name in Cricket Folklore

ON THIS DAY IN 2021: New Zealand cricketer Ajaz Patel etched his name in the pantheons of Test cricket greats after scalping all 10 players against India in 2021. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has been home to some of the most iconic moments in cricket history.

From Virat Kohli’s record-breaking ODI ton in 2023 to MS Dhoni’s winning six in 2011, Wankhede has served as the Colosseum of the sport. The stadium witnessed one such unusual feat in 2021 when New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel was adorned with the crown of 10 Test wickets in a single innings. This put him alongside Jim Laker and Anil Kumble as the only players to achieve it.

Having drawn the first Test in Kanpur, New Zealand arrived in Mumbai to shock the hosts in the next match. However, in the first innings, things were not too bright for the visitors as Mayank Agarwal smashed 150 runs for his side to give India a good start.

Ajaz Patel’s first success came in the 28th over which saw Shubman Gill depart at 44 runs.

Batters including Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli were dismissed by Patel at ducks leading to instability in the Indian camp.

He went on to scalp more players in frequent intervals before dismissing Mohammed Siraj to seal his final wicket.

The bowler finished the innings with all 10 wickets in 47.5 overs while giving away 119 runs. However, his impressive haul ultimately proved futile as India went on to win the match by 372 runs.

India’s spinning legend Anil Kumble achieved this feat on February 7, 1999. Kumble did ‘the unthinkable’ at the Firoj Shah Kotla, now known as the Arun Jaitley Stadium against arch-rivals Pakistan.

In that match, Kumble scalped all 10 Pakistani players in only 26.3 overs. In his spell, he delivered nine maiden overs and gave away just 74 runs. The Indian legend’s impressive haul handed India a resounding 212-run win and saw him awarded the Player of the Match award.

Before Anil Kumble, it was England’s Jim Laker who had achieved the feat of dismissing all 10 batters in an innings of a Test match. In that game, England had already established a 459-run knock in their first innings.

Laker started his side’s bowling offence by plucking nine wickets in Australia’s first batting innings, curbing the side at 84 runs. In their next innings, Laker continued his momentum to dismiss 10 players in the next innings of the Aussies to seal a win by an innings and 170 runs. He was the first player to attain this unique record.