India vs New Zealand: 27th November hai Bapu – Wasim Jaffer trolls Axar Patel over match ball in Kanpur Test

Former India cricket Wasim Jaffer was at his wittiest best, once again, as he went into finer details to look at Axar Patel’s match ball from Day 3 of the 1st Test between India and New Zealand to take a cheeky dig at the left-arm spinner.

Wasim Jaffer pointed out that Axar Patel had wrongly written the date of Day 3 of the Kanpur Test on his match ball after taking his 5th five-wicket haul on Saturday. Notably, in photos shared by the Board of Control for Cricket, the date on the match ball is October 27 but Jaffer pointed out the mistake.

India vs New Zealand, 1st Test Day 3: Highlights

“The only mistake Axar Patel made today was putting the wrong date on the match ball. 27th November hai bapu,” Jaffer wrote on social media.

The only mistake Axar Patel made today was putting wrong date on the match ball. 27th November hai bapu @akshar2026 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/fJKGPHqIry

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 27, 2021

Axar posed with the match ball on Saturday after picking his fifth 5-wicket haul in only 7th innings to become the joint second-fastest bowler to do so in the history of Test cricket. Axar helped India stage a remarkable comeback on Day 3 of the Kanpur Test as New Zealand slipped from 197/1 to 296-all out. Axar got the big wickets of Tom Latham (95), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell as he continued to make merry in Test matches at home.

Axar has been terrific since he donned the India whites at the start of the year and now has as many as 32 wickets in just three and half Tests. He will cherish this one a bit more considering that the track was not as diabolical as the ones in the England series.

TEST CRICKET IS NOT EASY: AXAR

The Gujarat spinner shed light on his bowling on Day 3, saying that staying patient worked wonders for him on a day where India bowlers worked hard to induce mistakes from New Zealand batsmen. Axar bowled 6 maidens in 34 overs in the first innings and gave away only 62 runs.

“It’s a dream start, in fact this is a dream within a dream start for me. No, Test cricket isn’t that easy. Was a hard grind today. They didn’t lose any wickets yesterday and the talk was to keep it tight, don’t try for wickets every ball, just look to be patient. I was sticking to the basics and using the crease a bit,” Axar said.

“My round-arm deliveries were getting something out of the track and I was optimising that a lot. That’s what worked for me,” he added.

India headed to Stumps at 14/1 after losing Shubman Gill early towards the close of play on Day 3. The hosts lead by 63 runs and will be looking to press ahead further on Sunday.