NZ Spinner Jeetan Patel breaks Gujarati hearts by denying Sachin Tendulkar his 50TH Test century
NZ Spinner Jeetan Patel breaks Gujarati hearts by denying Sachin Tendulkar his 50TH Test century
IT was Jeetan Patel who denied fellow Gujaratis a moment of euphoria by removing Sachin Tendulkar yesterday.
The offie made a tremendous comeback after being thwarted for 79 runs in 13 overs on Thursday.u00a0 He finished with 3 for 135, including the prized scalps of Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.
"Definitely the biggest scalp (Tendulkar) of my life, since there was so much riding on his presence in the middle. Everyone was talking about his fiftieth Test century, so obviously it was special." Patel said.
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| New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel delivers a ball during the second day of the first Test against India at the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera yesterday. Pic/AFP |
Asked if his side would be celebrating Diwali, Patel said: "It'd be quiet since we are trailing India by 400 odd runs. But getting Sachin out was great.
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It's the start of a new year, so hopefully this would help me progress to bigger things," the 30-year old told reporters.
Asked if he had planned the dismissal, Patel said: "I'd like to say yes, but no, I was just trying to bowl dot balls and create pressure.
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Luckily for me, I got amongst the wickets. We didn't allow either batsman to score runs, they scored only 60 odd in the first session. That helped us peg India back."
Meanwhile, Patel's skipper, Daniel Vettori, resorted to a negative line, bowling over the wicket and sliding the ball to Tendulkar's pads.
It reminded one and all of Ashley Giles' tactics in 2001-02. The Kiwis came to the field with a definite game plan, and evidently it paid off.
