INDIA made a positive start to reach 81-1 at lunch on the third day of their second test against New Zealand in Pune on Saturday (26) as the hosts chase 359 to win and go level at 1-1 in the three-match series.
Yashasvi Jaiswal went on the attack with cracking boundaries to stay unbeaten on 46, while Shubman Gill was 22 not out, after Mitchell Santner claimed the important wicket of Rohit Sharma for eight.
New Zealand were bowled out for 255 in their second innings after skipper Tom Latham's 86 and handy contributions lower down the order put them in a commanding position to secure a first ever series win in India.
India's highest successful run chase at home is the 387-4 they scored to beat England in Chennai in 2008 on a far better track than the one at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, where the spinners have wreaked havoc.
The hosts are looking to avoid their first series defeat on home soil since losing to England in 2012, with their record of 18 successive home series wins since that 2-1 humbling also on the line.
Resuming on 198-5 with their lead already more than 300 runs on an increasingly tough pitch, New Zealand trotted along nicely in the morning until Ravindra Jadeja castled Tom Blundell for 41 for his first wicket of the match.
Santner, who took 7-53 to give the Black Caps the upper hand on Friday (25), looked to target Jadeja but misread a looped delivery from the left-arm spinner and was caught in the deep for four.
Former skipper Tim Southee then followed him back into the dugout almost immediately, edging spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to Rohit, who showed quick reflexes to pull off a sharp catch at slip and draw loud cheers from the crowd.
Washington Sundar took a superb running catch in the deep as Ajaz Patel fell for one to Jadeja while William O'Rourke was run out by the bowler for a duck, leaving Glenn Phillips stranded on a well-made 48 not out.
(Reuters)
Scott Bessent
