Mumbai (Maharashtra): New Zealand's spinner Ajaz Patel continued his love affair with Wankhede Stadium as he became the player with most wickets by a visiting bowler at a single venue in India. He achieved this significant milestone on the third day of the second Test between India and New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday, November 3, 2024.
Patel now has 23 wickets at Wankhede Stadium to his name in two games, with the second game still in the process. He surpassed former England captain Ian Botham's tally of 22 wickets. Botham has this record at Wankhede stadium.
The stage is set for a thrilling finale in Mumbai! Four wickets required for New Zealand. 55 runs required for India. Follow the final session of the Test series LIVE in NZ on @skysportnz 📺 or @SENZ_Radio 📻 LIVE scoring https://t.co/VaL9TehXLT 📲 #INDvNZ #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/BlfgRPDerH
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 3, 2024
Patel took fifers in both innings of the Test against India. Before this, on the last tour, he had picked up all 10 wickets in an innings against India in 2021, becoming the only third player to achieve this historic feat in cricket history after Jim Laker (1956) and former Indian spinner Anil Kumble (1999). He finished the Wankhede Test in 2021 with stunning figures of 14/225 -- the best ever by a visiting bowler in India.
Five wickets fall in the first seven overs of the India chase! Ajaz Patel (3-16), Matt Henry (1-10) and Glenn Phillips (1-1) making plays in Mumbai! Follow play LIVE in NZ on @skysportnz 📺 or @SENZ_Radio 📻 LIVE scoring https://t.co/VaL9TehXLT 📲 #INDvNZ #CricketNation 📸 BCCI pic.twitter.com/bnOrXQvHto
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 3, 2024
Currently, he has 10 wickets to his name in the ongoing Test match. He can still add at least three wickets to his tally.
Overall at Wankhede Stadium, Ravichandran Ashwin leads the wicket-taking charts as he has taken 41 Test wickets in 12 innings. He is followed by Anil Kumble (38 wickets in 14 innings), Kapil Dev (28 wickets in 21 innings), Harbhajan Singh (24 in 10 innings) and Kharsan Ghavri (23 wickets in 11 innings).
Speaking of Ajaz Patel, he has picked all 83 wickets of his career away from home, with 79 scalps coming in the Asian conditions. Interestingly, he has yet to pick a test wicket in home conditions despite playing three games.
Most wickets by a visiting bowler at a venue in India
23 Ajaz Patel at Wankhede
22 Ian Botham at Wankhede
18 Richie Benaud at Eden Gardens
17 Courtney Walsh at Wankhede
