MUMBAI: Out of the 70 overs that New Zealand bowled on Day 1 of the second Test, 29 were bowled by Ajaz Patel.
The left-arm spinner almost single-handedly kept the visitors in the game by picking all four Indian wickets that fell.
Apart from Mayank Agarwal and to some extent Shubman Gill, all top-order Indian batsmen failed to negotiate Patel on a tricky track. The Mumbai-born spinner bowled slower through the air and saw his deliveries zip across the batsmen from the centre of the pitch.
"The reality of Test cricket is if you put the ball in good areas for long periods of time, you will see rewards. It was my day today and I am very lucky to be sitting here with four wickets and I am pretty happy about it, being in my home town at Wankhede it's quite special for me." said Patel, whose figures read 29-10-73-4 There was very little support from the other end for Patel as the other bowlers failed to make use of conditions.
Giving an insight on his strategy he said, "I was trying to put high revs on the ball. It was important that even though it was turning, I was still varying my lines, my angles and how I position the ball in my hand. Also, with different angles, you get different levels of turn - some turn sharply, some skid on. With the wicket being responsive, it challenged both sides of the edge," he said.
