Off-spinner Washington Sundar Sundar swung the momentum in India’s favour with seven wickets in the second session, including the in-form Rachin Ravindra, as New Zealand stumbled to 259 on Day 1 of the second Test at MCA Stadium, Pune on Thursday.
Picked in the playing eleven ahead of Kuldeep Yadav, Washington repaid the faith shown in him by the team management with career-best figures in his fifth Test.
New Zealand's last seven wickets fell for 62 runs.
Washington, picked ahead of Kuldeep Yadav to counter the Kiwi left-handers, produced a perfect delivery that turned from length and beat Ravindra’s outside edge to hit the off-stump.
Bringing up his fourth Test fifty, Ravindra (65) looked set for another century to lead the Kiwis’ charge but Sundar’s perseverance paid rich dividends.
The right-arm spinner also cleaned up Tom Blundell (3) with another peach to end the session on a high.
Having resumed at 92/2, New Zealand remained largely in control of the afternoon session until a change of ends worked for Sundar as he joined Ravichandran Ashwin (3/48) among wicket-takers.
Bumrah was hit for four boundaries in the first over post the lunch break with Devon Conway bringing up his fifty and also taking New Zealand past the 100-run mark.
None of the Indian bowlers looked threatening post the break as New Zealand marched on comfortably, until Ashwin came back into the attack to make another impression.
Conway, who had mixed his crisp drives and reverse sweeps, fell to Ashwin for the bowler’s third wicket in the day and overall 531st, which took him past Australian peer Nathan Lyon in the list of all-time highest wicket-takers.
It was a rather soft end to Conway’s progress as he got an edge off an harmless delivery outside the off stump, walking back after facing 141 balls for 76 with 11 hits to the ropes.
India’s ace spinner nearly had his fourth wicket when another Kiwi batter who is lacking big scores, Daryl Mitchell (16 not out), left his crease to take on Ashwin but got an inside edge.
To Mitchell's luck, the ball did not carry to Sarfaraz Khan at the short leg.
Ravindra also had a narrow shave in the 55th over from Jadeja when he danced down the track and Sarfaraz Khan at short leg followed his movement.
The delivery, a bit quicker and shorter in length from Jadeja, gave Ravindra less time to react and he played it towards the leg side where the ball passed through Sarfaraz’s hands who had shown great anticipation in following the batter.
Ravindra responded with two fours off Akash Deep in the next over, one of them passing over Shubman Gill who stood a bit closer to the batter than usual.
Akash Deep then drew an edge off Ravindra’s bat in his next over but the ball flew past the right hand of a diving Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully.
Brief scores: New Zealand 259 all out in 79.1 overs (Devon Conway 76, Rachin Ravindra 65; Washington Sundar 7/59, R Ashwin 3/64).
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