"It wasn't me"- Axar Patel responds to Wasim Jaffer on putting the wrong date on the ball following his 5-wicket-haul against New Zealand
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer and left-arm orthodox Axar Patel engaged in a hilarious back and forth following the culmination of the 3rd day of the Kanpur Test.
On a day when Patel claimed his fifth five-wicket-haul in just his 4th Test, Jaffer took to his Twitter account to point out the only mistake the Gujarat cricketer ended up committing.
Jaffer was pointing to the wrong date that Axar had put while signing the ball with which he claimed the five-for.
Jaffer wrote:
"The only mistake Axar Patel made today was putting wrong date on the match ball. 27th November hai bapu @akshar2026 π #INDvNZ''
Patel quoted the tweet and clarified that it was Suryakumar Yadav who had put the wrong date.
"It wasn't me... @surya_14kumar wrote this! π§," wrote Axar.
Jaffer then proceeded to come up with a cheeky reply that read:
"Ohh then what's the punishment for @surya_14kumar ? Stand in front of The Wall? π #INDvNZ"
Coming back to the ongoing Test, India have stormed back into the ascendancy by dismissing New Zealand for 296 to claim a 49-run lead.
The home side lost Shubman Gill at the stroke of stumps, eventually finishing the day at 14/1 (an overall lead of 63).
Axar Patel claimed his 5th five-wicket-haul in Tests on Saturday
Irrespective of who put the wrong date on the ball, Axar certainly didn't put a step wrong when he held the red cherry on the third day.
The left-arm orthodox ran through New Zealand's middle and lower order to grab yet another five-wicket-haul and continue his fairytale start in Test cricket.
Patel had initially toiled away for 0/39 during the entire second day and the first session on the third day but once he dismissed Ross Taylor in the afternoon, the floodgates proceeded to open.
He eventually claimed five wickets for the next 23 runs to end up with figures of 5/62 in 34 overs.
The spin-bowling all-rounder later dedicated his performance to his father, who is celebrating his birthday today.
"Number 5 ππ» Thanks everyone for the messages. This one's for my hero. Happy Birthday Dad β₯οΈ''- he wrote.
Axar has now joined the likes of Tom Richardson and Rodney Hogg as far as claiming five 5-fors in the first four Tests is concerned.
If he can claim another 5-wicket haul in the second innings, then he will join Charlie Turner, who currently holds the record for most five-fors after four Tests.