Ajaz Patel On Rishabh Pant Scaring NZ Bowlers: New Zealand spin bowler Ajaz Patel revealed the fear that set in his fellow Kiwis bowlers whenever Rishabh Pant walked out to bat during their recently concluded three-match Test series in India.
New Zealand went on to win the Test series 3-0 in India. This is the first time that the Indian Cricket Team has lost a Test series at home in 12 years. This is also the first whitewash in a Test series at home for any team of an independent India.
Ajaz was the pick of the bowlers for the BlackCaps. In the three Test matches, he took 15 wickets. While his performance in the first two Tests was decent, he shined in the third match of the series, being played in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
At the Wankhede, Patel picked a fifer in the first inning as India took the lead in the first inning for the first time in the series. And as the Men in Blue only needed 147 runs to win in the final inning, it was Ajaz who took six wickets, crippled India’s middle and lower order, and led his team to a thrilling 25-run victory in the match.
But despite the historic whitewash, which consisted of three of New Zealand’s only five test match wins in India ever, one India batter was always a thorn in the path for the visitors, as Rishabh Pant had a fantastic personal series.
In the first match, when the whole team got out for 46 in the first inning, Pant was the team’s highest scorer with 20. In the second inning, he scored a brilliant 99. After a disappointing second match, Rishabh returned to form in the third Test. As India took the lead in the first inning, he scored a fine 60. And then, as the team collapsed while chasing 147 in the final inning, the wicketkeeper was India’s only hope and scored 64.
Ajaz Patel On Rishabh Pant Scaring NZ Bowlers
Speaking on Pant and his performances during the series, Ajaz Patel recently opened up about what effect he had on the New Zealand bowlers. During a recent interview with NDTV, Patel had this to say about the Indian wicketkeeper,
“When Rishabh Pant is in the crease, everyone is scared. We targeted Rishabh Pant the most in this series. He doesn’t fear when in the middle. He plays his game, no matter what. His philosophy is till the time you are on the crease, you do what you want to; if you get out, no problem.”
Rishabh Pant will next feature for the Indian Cricket Team as they will travel to Australia for the five Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the first Test of which will start on November 22 in Perth’s Optus Stadium.
He was also recently in the news for being released by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction. In the auction. He will most likely be the costliest player coming out of the auction.
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