India in the driver’s seat at Stumps on Day 2 as New Zealand batters fail to impress

India found themselves in the driver’s seat at Stumps on Day 2 of the Mumbai Test as the hosts restricted New Zealand to 171/9 in their second innings, with the visitors leading by just 143 runs.

While the Indian spinners made life difficult for the New Zealand batters, it was the overnight pair of Rishabh Pant (60) and Shubman Gill (90) who set the tone early with an aggressive brand of batting.

Pant, in particular, started the day’s play with three boundaries off the first over of the day and piled the pressure on the Black Caps early on, with Gill happy to play second fiddle.

Gill got to his fifty off 66 balls but in some sense was overshadowed by Pant as the dynamic southpaw smashed his way to his half-century in just 36 balls.

The duo put on 96 runs for the 5th wicket as their effort stood out in the first session, where India scored 109 runs in 24 overs. Post lunch, New Zealand struck with back-to-back wickets, and it came down to a cameo from Washington Sundar (36-ball 38) that helped India past the visitors’ total and register a lead of 28 runs.

India started off fabulously with the ball through Akash Deep, who castled Tom Latham with his fifth ball, but Devon Conway and Will Young joined forces to take New Zealand into Tea with only a two-run deficit.

The visitors, though, lost Conway (22) and Rachin Ravindra (4) inside six balls as the Black Caps suddenly found themselves in trouble. Will Young crafted another half-century to resist the Indian incision, and a brief attacking cameo from Glenn Phillips (14-ball 26) did frustrate India, but Jadeja (4/52) and Ashwin (3/63) picked wickets at regular intervals and kept the visitors from running away with the lead.

India will enter Day 3 with only one more New Zealand wicket to claim that will set them a target to chase, a goal that will help India pick up at least one win from what’s been a rather forgettable Test series.