Black Caps hero Ajaz Patel has spoken about his performance in the opening Test against Pakistan in the UAE, spinning New Zealand to a four-run victory in Abu Dhabi.
Patel, 30, starred with the ball as the Black Caps defended 176 in the fourth innings, with the left arm tweaker taking 5-59 to wrap up a miraculous and improbable victory.
Needing 139 more runs with all 10 wickets in hand on the fourth day, Pakistan was bowled out for 171 with Patel taking 5-59 and Wagner claiming 2-27.
Azhar Ali (65) and Asad Shafiq (45) seemed to have carried Pakistan to victory with an 82-run fourth wicket stand before Wagner broke through just before lunch by having Shafiq caught behind.
Babar Azam's (10) run out in a mix-up with Azhar triggered the collapse as Pakistan lost its last six wickets for only 24 runs.
Azhar was the last man to be dismissed when Patel had him leg before wicket as New Zealand recorded its narrowest test victory in terms of runs.
Named man of the match for his efforts with the ball, Patel was quick to credit and thank his teammates for his incredible debut hall.
"As a unit, we kept chipping away. A lot of credit goes to the environment we have, a very calm environment we have," Patel began.
"In terms of the pressure on debut, I think I have put in a lot of handwork, leaving the rest to Allah.
"It's an absolute dream come true in the end. We know Pakistan have got very good players of spin, but we kept chipping in there, and in the end, all thanks to Allah."
New Zealand, which conceded a 74-run first innings lead, was bowled out for 249 in its second innings, giving the visitors an overall lead of 175 runs.
New Zealand fought to successfully defend the second smallest target in its test history with Patel and Wagner making the run-chase difficult for Pakistan on a wearing wicket.
Azhar shielded No. 11 batsman Mohammad Abbas for 7.4 overs to get the last precious 12 runs before he was outdone by Patel's guile with Pakistan narrowly falling short.
"We knew the surface was not easy and we saw this throughout from both sides. It's a great advertisement for test cricket that it came down to the wire," New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said.
"It's a fantastic game of cricket to be part of and anyone who watched it here appreciated. From our prospective we ended on the right side, we showed the fighting attitude."
The Black Caps take a 1-0 lead in the best of three series, with the second Test to begin on Saturday in Dubai.
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