Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel, the two Indian origin players of the New Zealand team were responsible for what would be known in years to come as Kanpur heist. They literally took the game away from India under fading lights and hence there was no loss of happy smiles on their faces when Ajaz was asked to speak to Ravindra about the drawn Test match, which was also Ravindra’s debut Test.
Asked about his experience of the first Test, Ravindra said, “ Being able to play in India in front of their crazy fans, bit nail-biting at the end, glad we could get the draw. And if you could ask me when will be a perfect Test match, maybe that was it.”
Talking about the butterflies in the stomach while getting to play his debut Test, Ravindra said, “Definitely a little bit nervous bowling wise and when we were four down and I was next to bat in the first innings, I definitely felt the butterflies. But after a while, I did what I do and backed all the efforts that I have done and luckily it ended up okay on the last day.”
Ajaz then mentioned how important has Ravindra’s dad’s role been in making him a cricketer. Speaking about that the 22-year-old said, “My mom and dad have been such big influences on me and my career thus far. It’s pretty special to be able to play in their home town (Kanpur). I am sure they are very proud. Obviously, I can’t thank them enough for what they have done.”
However, the icing on the cake in that interview was when Ajaz said, “What an exciting way to start off your Test career mate” and Ravindra replied, “Yeah it was. It was really nice, but we did it together bro.”
The duo survived 52 balls as the last standing pair of the New Zealand team and earned the hard-fought draw.