IND vs NZ: The second day of the Pune Test has come to an end, and this day was not the brightest of days in Indian cricket. New Zealand, the victorious side from Chinnaswamy, has once again gained the upper hand in the second Test.
The innings seemed very different from the scenario in the first test when India faced an early batting collapse, which was humiliating; however, this time around, India began the first day with a rising bowling performance dominated by the Tamil Nadu spin duo.
Likes of Ravi Ashwin and newly added surprise spinner Washington Sundar were India’s lead spinning options in the slow and turning pitch of MCA. However, despite the spin-favoring track, the Kiwi batters didn’t seem to struggle in and out, as Conway and Ravindra seemed to handle pace efficiently.
The Kiwis were bowled out for 259, as Sundar was the pick of the bowlers for India with 7/59. India, with the dismissal of the skipper for a duck, ended Day 1 with 16/1.
Day 2 seemed to have brought lots of hope for the Indian youngsters and seemed to have started well with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring vital runs for India.
Kiwi spinners seemed to have a better hand than Indian players; Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips picked 9 wickets between themselves, which caused another major batting collapse for India. Jadeja was India’s highest scorer with just 38 runs.
India were bowled out for 156, as New Zealand kept a 103-run lead intact, with even the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant failing to score enough runs in the Indian innings this time around.
New Zealand skipper Tom Latham led from the front with a stunning 86-run innings, as others failed to capitalize in front of Sundar. Washington Sundar picked 4 wickets in this innings as well, alongside Ashwin’s first wicket of Young. With this, Kiwis ended Day 2 with 198/5 at Stumps.
The BlackCaps have extended their lead to above three hundred, despite Washington Sundar, who is playing his dream return match at the MCA, as he has picked his maiden ten-wicket haul. Latham was the last Kiwi wicket to fall, which was Sundar’s 11th wicket of the match. India will hope to be back on Day 4, especially with some promising performances from their batters.
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