Explained: How Ajaz Patel Used His Magic Trick To Deceive Both Virat Kohli And Shubman Gill
Kohli dismissed for 1 [Source: PTI]
The third Test match between India and New Zealand could be summed up in a simple sentence - It was Ajaz Patel Vs Indian batters and Ajaz Patel Vs Rishabh Pant. While Pant dominated Patel with utmost ease, the others failed miserably in front of his brilliant skills.
The left-arm spinner turned Wankhede into his playing ground as the Indian batters struggled to decode him and threw their wickets away as the Kiwis made a match out of nothing in the second innings.
He picked up a 5-wicket haul in India's first innings and was the chief destroyer once again in the second innings as the likes of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill were bamboozled by the Kiwi great. Sitting in front of a television, the deliveries to knock over Kohli and Gill look normal, but after analysing it, one could understand the brilliance of Ajaz Patel and how he trapped the two Indian stars.
Tale of different ball grip and how Ajaz utilised it
The two pictures shown talks about the dismissals of Gill and Kohli. The image on the left depicts the grip used by Ajaz to dismiss Gill. He had a wider grip and there was a gap between the thumb and the index finger which means the ball will skid through.
This was the way to trap Gill as the ball went straight and didn't offer any turn as it castled the stumps.
Now, for Kohli, Ajaz had a narrower grip which means the ball will have a bit more top sin and will provide turn. Kohli played for the straighter one, but it turned sharply to take the outside-edge as the Indian batter failed to deliver.
India clean swept by the Kiwis
History was created in Mumbai on Sunday as Kiwis defeated India in a nail-biter to clinch the series, 3-0. Rohit Sharma becomes just the second Indian skipper to get whitewashed at home, a feat he won't be proud of.
Despite just 147 runs to play with, the Kiwis did exceedingly well and snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat.