Pune: Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner grabbed career-best figures of 7-53, while Tom Latham played a fine captain’s knock of 86 as New Zealand put themselves on the verge of a historic series win after ending day two’s play at 198/5 in 53 overs and lead India by 301 runs in the second Test at MCA Stadium here on Friday.
A day after Washington Sundar blew away New Zealand with his 7-59, it was Santner’s turn to torment the Indian batters on a spin-friendly pitch through a stunning exhibition of varying his pace, line and length, flight and dip to pick his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests by bowling 17.3 overs relentlessly and unchanged from the commentary box end. He was also well-supported by Glenn Phillips’ 2-26 and helped by some rash shot selection and lack of gumption from the Indian batters.
Armed with a 103-run first-innings lead, Latham was enterprising in his stay at the crease and hit ten boundaries in his vital 133-ball knock of 86. Tom Blundell also looked solid in his unbeaten 30, after putting a stand of 60 runs with Latham for the fifth wicket. The onus will be on him and Glenn Phillips (nine not out) to bat India out of the match, and try to force a result on Saturday.
For India, whose tactics and fielding placements bordered on the defensive, Washington Sundar again emerged to be the pick of bowlers with 4-56, while Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket, and the rest of the bowlers couldn’t step up to stop New Zealand’s charge.
In the morning, resuming from 16/1, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a 49-run stand for the second wicket. But once Gill was trapped lbw by a quicker delivery from Santner, the wickets started tumbling for India. The crowd at Pune was stunned into silence when Virat Kohli went for a pre-mediated slog-sweep off Santner, but he missed the low full toss which went below his bat to hit the stumps, leaving the ace batter shell-shocked.
Phillips struck in the first over of part-time off-spin as Jaiswal came forward to defend, but gave an outside edge to the first slip. Rishabh Pant was next to fall, after his pre-mediated pull off Phillips went past his bat to hit the stumps.
With a chance to play sweep-shot blocked, Sarfaraz Khan aimed to go inside-out against Santner but miscued to mid-off. Santner had another moment of absolute joy when he trapped Ravichandran Ashwin lbw with a quicker delivery and cap off a brilliant session for New Zealand to leave India in disarray yet again.
Jadeja could have been out first ball post lunch when short leg dived forward to take the catch off his inside edge, which New Zealand didn’t review and replays later showed a spike on the ultra edge. He then put pressure back on Santner with two boundaries, before dancing down the pitch to hit Ajaz Patel for two sixes.
But Santner got his fifth wicket of the innings by getting a length ball to spin in from outside off-stump and caught Jadeja on the crease by trapping him lbw. Jadeja went for the review, but replays showed the ball clipping leg-stump, as he walked back for 38.
Despite Sundar smashing two fours and a six off Ajaz, Santner swiftly ended India’s innings by knocking over Akash Deep’s off-stump and trapping Jasprit Bumrah lbw to lead the team off the field in the ascendancy.
After India conceded a lead of 103 runs, it wasn’t a surprise to see them start with a spin from both ends. But New Zealand were positive in their batting approach – taking singles to keep the scoreboard moving, using their feet well, and pouncing on anything that fetched them boundaries.
Latham’s proactiveness was evident from the time he brought out the cover drive and glance off Ravichandran Ashwin for two fours, followed by Devon Conway nailing a loft down the ground and sweep off him for a similar result.
Though Conway was trapped lbw on a sweep off Washington Sundar, Latham and Will Young dazzled with their exhibition of the reverse sweep, paddle sweep, conventional sweep and drives. But Young was caught in the crease by a straighter delivery from Ashwin and trapped lbw. The final session began with Sundar’s arm ball sneaking under Rachin Ravindra’s bat and hitting the top of the off-stump. While Latham got his fifty, after being dropped on 49 by Rishabh Pant, Daryl Mitchell got going with a sweep and down the ground boundaries.
But in a bid to hit a big shot off Washington’s slower ball, Mitchell holed out to long-on. From there, Latham and Blundell picked the lengths easily, especially against Ravindra Jadeja, to get boundaries mostly through the off-side.
But Washington struck to take his fourth wicket and 11th of the game by trapping Latham lbw on the sweep. Blundell and Phillips hung around to ensure New Zealand ended a day full of complete domination on a high, as India stared at the possibility of losing a Test series at home for the first time since 2012.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 259 & 198/5 in 53 overs (Tom Latham 86, Tom Blundell 30 not out; Washington Sundar 4-56) lead India 156 all out in 45.3 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 38, Yashasvi Jaiswal 30; Mitchell Santner 7-53, Glenn Phillips 2-26) by 301 runs
–IANS