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India all out, all 10 wickets by Ajaz Patel
In terms of its freakish nature, a ten is incomparable. And that is why Ajaz Patel will go down in history books
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There have been three instances of a bowler claiming all the wickets in a Test innings since the first official Test was played in 1877. That boils down to once every 1,624 Tests or so, or once in every 48 years. There are better chances of watching a comet fly past our planet. The discerning crowd at the Wankhede in Mumbai knew exactly how special it was, of course, which is why they roared as Mohammed Siraj skied Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra — like Mr Patel, he too is a Kiwi cricketer of Indian origin — lined up underneath for the catch that would give Mr Patel his tenth wicket. Then, the crowd rose to offer a standing ovation for a man who was born in Mumbai before his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was eight.
Ten wickets in an innings for a single bowler is hard to come by, for it demands not just a supreme performance by the bowler — but also depends on other bowlers not getting a wicket. Sometimes, the bowler, deservedly, needs a little help from his friends. Think of Anil Kumble on nine wickets in 1999 at Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla, where the bowler at the other end, Javagal Srinath, started sending down slow, simple deliveries as far from the stumps as he could. It doesn’t always work out that way. There are 17 instances of a single bowler taking nine wickets in an innings, making it six times more likely than a ten-fer. A single bowler taking eight wickets in an innings has occurred 80 times. In terms of impact, there is not much to choose between eight-in-an-innings and ten-in-an-innings. But in terms of its freakish nature, a ten is incomparable. And that is why Ajaz Patel will go down in history books — despite his effort coming in a losing cause.
