A spectacular seven-wicket haul by Mitchell Santner helped New Zealand dismiss India for 156 before the tourists reached 198-5 at stumps on day two of the second test in Pune on Friday to tighten their grip on the three-match series. Tom Blundell was unbeaten on 30 and Glenn Phillips was batting on nine as the Black Caps, who won the series opener by eight wickets, extended their lead to 301 runs at the close after scoring 259 in the first innings. "It's a great feeling but to put ourselves in a position to potentially win a test here is pretty cool," Santner said.
"The way the guys did it with the bat there, it doesn't look easy and we knew getting partnerships was the key. We managed to do that today, which was outstanding." Washington Sundar got rid of Devon Conway for 17, Rachin Ravindra for nine and Daryl Mitchell for 18 while Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Will Young for 23, but the runs came quickly and too easily for New Zealand.
New skipper Tom Latham returned to form with a timely 86 but became Washington's fourth victim late in the afternoon after he put the tourists in a strong position to secure their maiden series victory in India. India are seeking a 19th straight home series victory since a 2-1 defeat by England in 2012, but will need a battling effort to draw level with New Zealand ahead of the finale in Mumbai early next month. Santner had earlier posted career-best figures of 7-53 while Phillips bagged 2-26 as the spinners continued to sparkle at the Maharas.
