After his historic performance in the first innings of the second India-New Zealand Test, former Australian spinner Brad Hogg assessed Ajaz Patel’s bowling. The left-arm spinner created history by being only the third bowler in Test cricket history to take all ten wickets in one innings.
After finding turn and bounce with his opening delivery in Mumbai, Patel bowled 47.5 overs in the first innings. According to Hogg, who compared Ajaz Patel’s line and lengths to those of Axar Patel. Despite his writing background, Ajaz Patel has to improve his consistency.
“If I compare Ajaz Patel with Axar Patel, the one thing he needs to work on, is his consistency. The Mumbai wicket helped him to get away with that inconsistency. Because if you bowled a little bit fuller and the batsmen didn’t use their feet. The ball was going to turn easily. If you look at Axar Patel, the majority of the deliveries are pitched in the good length area.” Hogg said
While commanding a three-pronged spin attack in the first Test, the 33-year-old did not have the best of performances. After a 10-wicket haul in the first innings of the second Test, he added four more in the second innings, bringing his match total to 14 wickets.
Ajaz Patel
Mayank Agarwal’s calculated approach against Ajaz Patel received praise from Hogg. The Indian batting team was being ripped apart by the left-arm spinner. The opening batter was keeping the scoreboard ticking over by taking calculated risks. In his maiden innings of 150 runs, Agarwal, who is recognized for his skill against spin bowling, hit 17 fours and four sixes.
“Mayank Agarwal was under a lot of pressure after getting the opportunity to open after a long time. At 80-3, all of a sudden he had to think about how he should approach this situation, he had the new batsman Iyer at the other end and Ajaz Patel being the biggest threat. Should I take him on or take the more conservative approach. He took the aggressive approach, he came down the track for the flighted deliveries and hung back for the flatter ones. Sometimes you have to take calculative risks.” Hogg added
Sachin Tendulkar praised Agarwal’s calculated risks as well. In the second innings, the newly-recruited Punjab Kings ace produced a half-century to cap off another successful batting performance.
Read more: Cricket News: Brad Hogg says “Ajaz Patel must improve his consistency”
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