NEW DELHI: After securing a historic whitewash against India on their home turf, New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel discussed how the pitch behaviour changed post-morning session on day two, enabling him to utilise his variations and pace effectively. He also shared insights about his strategic battle with Rishabh Pant whilst defending 147 runs.
At Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Ajaz delivered another remarkable performance, claiming ten wickets to guide New Zealand to a 25-run victory in the third Test. This achievement marked the first-ever series whitewash by a visiting team in India in a Test series spanning three or more matches.
During the post-match presentation, Ajaz expressed interest in the suggestion of taking a piece of the Wankhede pitch home. He emphasised the importance of rhythm in spin bowling and capitalising on favourable conditions.
“Not yet, but that is a great idea (on being asked if he would take a part of this pitch while going home). Spin bowling is about rhythm. When you are in such a rhythm, you will have to make the most of it. When the conditions present themselves, you got to take it by the horns and do something about it,” said Ajaz.
“I felt confident in the morning session (on day two) as well to be fair, but the pitch didn’t offer me a lot in terms of spin. The period after lunch, it turned a lot more and it helped me to use my guile and vary the pace. I just tried to keep it simple, keep the shape of the ball in the air and be ahead of the batters.”
“He (Pant) has batted phenomenally in the series and he put us under pressure throughout the series. I knew if I just bowled good balls at him, he will come out and hit me out of the park. So, I had to think out of the box and come up with a different plan against him. No, not this time (on whether he would go and visit Jogeshwari, his place of birth in the Mumbai suburb),” he concluded.
Pant emerged as the series’ leading run-scorer across both teams, accumulating 261 runs in three innings at an average of 43.80, striking at 89.38 with three half-centuries and a highest score of 99.
In pursuit of 147 runs, India struggled at 29 for five. Despite Pant’s aggressive half-century (64 off 57 balls, including nine fours and a six), India collapsed to 121 all out.
Ajaz claimed outstanding figures of 6/57, whilst Phillips contributed effectively with 3/42, securing crucial breakthroughs.
