Day 2 of the Mumbai Test had started with Mayank Agarwal resuming his first innings at 120. It ended with Agarwal on 38 not out in the second innings. In between, records tumbled, and history was etched.
March 2022 will see international cricket turn 145. There have been 2,428 Test matches in almost a century and a half. Ajaz Patel became only the third bowler after Jim Laker (1956) and Anil Kumble (1999) to bag all 10 wickets in an innings. He had four overnight, and bagged another six in a span of two sessions.
Ajaz became the first bowler to achieve the feat in the first innings of a Test and do it away from home. The last bit depends on your definition, for he was born in Mumbai, lived here until he was eight, and still has his extended family living there.
Agarwal defied the Ajaz threat with 150. The only other Indian to breach the fifty mark was Axar Patel, who scored 52, his maiden Test fifty.
The New Zealand batters, too, made history, albeit in a dubious way. They were bowled out for 62, the lowest by any team against India in Test cricket as well as the on Indian soil.
Mohammed Siraj triggered the collapse with the first three wickets before Axar joined the party with two, Jayant Yadav got one, and R. Ashwin got 4-8.
Trivia: Ajaz’s figures of 10-119 means he averaged 11.9 in the first innings of the Test. Meanwhile, into his fifth Test, Axar, who already has 35 wickets, has a Test bowling average of 11 at the moment. Imagine how brilliant he has been!
An elbow injury to Shubman Gill forced Cheteshwar Pujara to open batting. Pujara showed uncharacteristic aggression early in the innings. He even hit a six – his third against New Zealand and 15th in 92 Test matches.
Ahead of the Test match, using Pujara as opener instead of Agarwal might have crossed the mind of the Indian team management, had they wanted to persist with Ajinkya Rahane. An injury to Rahane solved that problem.
Two days later, here is Agarwal, averaging 188 in a Test match where the combined average of the others stands at 13. He has scored over 41% of the total runs scored in the Test, and more than thrice of New Zealand's first-innings score.
Applauding Mohammed Siraj
Between the buzz around Ajaz and Agarwal, Siraj ensured only one side dominated the proceedings. Siraj has inexhaustible stamina, he is a thinking bowler. With swing, seam and pace all in his quiver, he has emerged as vital artillery in the excellent Indian fast bowling ammunition.
Agarwal revealed that Rahul Dravid advised him to ‘control what was in his hand’. He had responded with a show which will force the management to find a place for him in the XI.
An injury to Ishant Sharma opened the doors for Siraj, who is usually not part of India's first-choice pacers. All the three wickets he picked on Day 2 were well-planned and executed. The one that bowled Ross Taylor made a spectacular watch.
The Test match featured more experienced fast bowlers like Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson and Umesh Yadav, but Siraj remains the only pacer to have picked up wickets. Once he got the crux, the spin trio would always feast on the rest on this surface.
Like Agarwal, Siraj, too, did what he could control.
All in all, it was the most memorable day for Ajaz, and a terrible one for New Zealand that left them trailing by 322 runs. The question, however, remains: should India have enforced the follow-on?
There is enough time left, one can argue. Some would say India would not want to bat fourth here. They might have wanted to give the batters more practice. However, we know Virat Kohli to be ruthless, and with his bowlers bowling less than 30 overs in the first innings, the decision to not enforce follow on borders around a defensive one.
New Zealand need nothing short of a miracle to stage a return in the Test match. If the lead crosses 400 by lunch on Day 3, India will have probably batted out the top-ranked Test side. Even if Ajaz picks up 20 wickets in the Test match, it will not matter.
England did win after getting a 67 at Headingley in 2019, but the Australian lead there was not as enormous. A Ben Stokes-like feat on a surface this difficult is unlikely.
Rain, spinning surface, left-arm spin, Dravid’s presence in a leadership role, and a struggling side from Oceania – this Wankhede Test has several shades of the one played against Australia in 2004/05. And just like that one, this may well end on the third day too.