"They’re certainly an opposition that are very, very skilled": Ajaz Patel ahead of the Mumbai Test

New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel

When New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel last played against India at the Wankhede Stadium, it turned out to be a special outing as he claimed all 10 wickets in the first innings of the 2021 Test. Now, as he returns to the city of his birth for the final Test in a series the Kiwis have already won, he is looking forward to challenging the hosts once again.

"It is really about continuing to challenge them [India]. As a batter, it's not easy out there when you're facing a ball that's turning as much, so, it's about us making sure we put the balls in good areas for long periods of time," Patel said after his team's near three-hour long practice session on Wednesday.

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Patel, though, admitted that it's a tough task to keep Rohit Sharma & Co under pressure for a long time. "Obviously, they [India] haven't had maybe as much success as they would have liked in this series so far, but they're certainly an opposition that are very, very skilled and not the easiest to come up against.

"Their skill set is very vast and for us, as a spin group especially, it's about being able to control what we can control and making sure that we can apply pressure for long periods of time by delivering the best balls on a given surface," added Patel, who returned figures of 2-100 and 2-43 in the Bangalore and Pune Tests, respectively.

About returning to the City of Dreams, Patel, who claimed 14 scalps (10-119 and 4-106) in the December 2021 Test here, said: "Being back in Mumbai is always special and it's a place I call home as well. Having the opportunity to play out here again is special. To be honest, after my 10-wicket haul, I wasn't sure if I would get another opportunity to play here throughout my career."