Mitchell Santner‘s sorcery turned out to be too good for Team India on the second day of the ongoing Pune Test as he ran through their batting order and claimed the maiden five-wicket haul of his Test career. Mitchell Santner, 32, snared seven scalps while giving away just 53 runs in 19.3 overs. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler was in his elements and proved extremely hard to negotiate for the Indian batters.
Mitchell Santner’s brilliant bowling spell helped him break Tom Hartley’s special record against India. The Kiwi has now registered the best bowling figures against India in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. The record previously belonged to England’s Hartley who had claimed 7/62 against Team India in Hyderabad in January this year. Hartley’s stunning spell had helped the Three Lions beat India in that red-ball contest.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Santner’s spell has put the visitors in a position of strength in the Test match. The Blackcaps have accumulated a lead of 103 runs over the hosts after the culmination of the first innings and are just 10 wickets away from rewriting history.
Day 2 : Morning Session : Mitchell Santner and spinners stuns India before lunch on Day 2
Mitchell Santner led the rout as New Zealand stunned a strong Indian batting line-up on the second day in Pune to take complete control of the second Test. While the pitch did play tricks, India would also rue some of the shots they played as they ended up losing six wickets in the session and were reduced to 107/7 at Lunch.
Shubman Gill and Yashaswi Jaiswal made a positive start in the morning, dealing in boundaries. But against the run of play, Gill was trapped leg-before-wicket by Mitchell Santner and that kickstarted a collapse. Virat Kohli completely missed a low full-toss against Mitchell Santner to lose his stumps and that stunned the Pune crowd. While Rishabh Pant got off a typical start by finding the boundary off just his second ball, Jaiswal departed at the other end after edging one to slip.
From there on, every ball was an event given the turn and bounce on offer. But it was the lack of bounce on one quicker delivery from Glenn Phillips that accounted for Pant as a half-tracker kept low to shatter the stumps. India’s long batting line-up didn’t help their cause as wickets just kept tumbling. Sarfaraz Khan miscued one off Santner and the left-arm spinner also removed R Ashwin quickly.
Washington Sundar survived a shout for lbw just minutes before Lunch and alongside Ravindra Jadeja, he has a massive rebuilding job ahead of him with India still trailing by 152 runs.
India have only twice overturned a lead of 100 to win a Test: the great Kolkata Test in 2000-01, and a successful chase of over 400 in Port-of-Spain in 1976, for long the highest in Test cricket. They found themselves in this situation because their legendary spinners were outbowled by two who came into the match with two first-class five-fors between them. Glenn Phillips was Mitchell Santner’s partner in crime, taking out the two dangerous left-hand batters, Yashaswi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant.
Mitchell Santner bowled unchanged through the day for 17.3 overs. Six of his victims were either bowled or lbw as he kept attacking the stumps with balls behaving differently from the same spot. This wasn’t quite the square turner that India lost their last Pune Test on – against Australia in 2016-17 – but there was enough turn and enough variation in turn to not allow India the ultra-aggressive approach they have employed this home season.
Right from the first three balls of the day, the challenge for India was apparent. From the same spot, the first one turned lesser than expected, the second one went straight on but Shubman Gill survived the umpire’s call, and the third one turned big past the outside edge. There was not just turn, but also quick turn and natural variations from the surface.
India had batting till No. 9, but on such pitches, the depth doesn’t mean much. So accurate was Mitchell Santner that it took just 47 false shots to run through India. For the first half hour, though, New Zealand’s patience and belief was tested. Gill managed to start breaking free with a six off Tim Southee after charging at him. Yashaswi Jaiswal drove Southee for a four, before Ajaz Patel, the lead spinner on paper, offered him another half volley.
But it turned around for New Zealand in the 22nd over of the day when Mitchell Santner again beat Gill with one that went straight on. This time the umpire’s call went the bowler’s way. As the 15 seconds on the DRS timer lapsed, the crowd broke into a big cheer. For the arrival of Virat Kohli. The joy for them was short-lived as Kohli soon missed a full toss, which he tried to mow to square leg. The ball did drift in from the initial line, but it was still a full toss that Kohli would have dispatched almost every time had he played with a straighter bat.
By now, the effect of the roller was wearing off. Batters were shanking even full balls – or those that they got close to – by using their feet. The ones that didn’t turn created further doubt. As it tends to happen at such times, fielders were everywhere: a hard sweep went straight into the shin of short leg, a short ball stopped and turned, and the pressure kept mounting.
With two left-hand batters in the middle, Latham went to Phillips post the first drinks break. It took Phillips four balls to turn one and take Jaiswal’s edge to slip. Rishabh Pant, who had been kept quiet with in-out fields, then went to pull one that was only slightly short of a length. The ball stayed low and bowled him, drawing an inaudible invective that might end up hitting Pant in the wallet.
Sarfaraz Khan, who had shown proficiency against spin in Bengaluru, soon found out that the margin for error was little in Pune. If you had to attack, you needed everything to go right. He tried to go inside-out to a really full ball, and it still spooned just over cover. His sweep was blocked, and brought him just singles. Eventually, he tried to the clear the deepish mid-off without getting to the pitch of the ball, a reminder of Phillips’ dismissal on day one. A shooter then did R Ashwin in, the first time Mitchell Santner went past three wickets in a Test innings.
Day 2 : Post Lunch Session : New Zealand on top after vital first-innings lead of 103 runs
New Zealand are on top in the Test match against India in Pune having secured a vital first innings lead of 103. Having run through the Indian batting lineup in the morning session, New Zealand got the job done post Lunch, bowling India out for 156 thanks to Mitchell Santner’s career-best 7 for 53. They then added 85 more runs in the second innings for the loss of two wickets to extend the lead to 188 at Tea.
Ravindra Jadeja began the session in positive fashion as he took charge of scoring duties. With only Washington Sundar being the recognized batter at the other end, Jadeja took on Santner for a couple of fours before slamming Ajaz Patel for a six down the ground. The allrounder took on Ajaz again for another maximum before Santner struck a crucial blow by getting rid of the batter to complete a five-fer.
In the same over, Mitchell Santner struck again by dismissing Akash Deep after conceding a six off the previous delivery. Washington did his bit to reduce the deficit by targeting Ajaz for 14 in an over but Santner finished his dream outing by putting an end to India’s misery with the bat.
Will Young pulled out the reverse sweep straight away but India started finding more purchase off the pitch by this time around. Sensing the need to add as many as possible, both Tom Latham and Young looked to keep the scorecard ticking. Eventually, Ashwin opened his column with the wicket of Young just before the Tea break. Considering how tricky the surface is, the visitors might likely adopt the same approach post the break as well.
India had lost 6 wickets for 53 runs, and so far ahead were New Zealand that they could afford to make a DRS error and have Ajaz bowl to two left-hand batters four overs for 32 runs. Meanwhile, Mitchell Santner kept attacking the stumps and kept producing enough chances. Only some hitting from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar took India past 150.
A lead of 103 here was a far worse scenario than the 356 in Bengaluru because this pitch was only going to get worse and India would have to bat last. Latham paddle-swept the first ball. A backward short leg came in to block that shot, and he cover-drove a boundary. Rohit Sharma was now just chasing the ball because you can’t react when you trail by so much on a turning pitch.
The taking down of two of India’s greatest match-winners was clinical. Sweeps, reverse sweeps, and the use of feet were all employed. Ashwin’s first spell went for 33 in six overs, and Jadeja went for 24 in three. Washington, at the other end, kept picking up wickets. Devon Conway edged a sweep on to the pad, but didn’t review the lbw decision. So far ahead were New Zealand.
Day 2 : Afternoon Session : Mitchell Santner, Latham put India under the pump on Day 2
Mitchell Santner and Tom Latham starred in a dominant day for New Zealand as they put India under the pump in the second Test in Pune. The visitors put on an excellent show with the ball to stun the home side and then went on to extend the lead beyond 300 by stumps on the second day.
The day began on a positive note for India as Shubman Gill and Yashaswi Jaiswal dealt in boundaries. However, Gill’s dismissal triggered a collapse from which the hosts never recovered. Virat Kohli completely missed a low full toss to get bowled and the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant followed suit. Even though the pitch played tricks, poor shot selection led to some of the dismissals.
India’s long batting order didn’t come to aid them either as six wickets fell in that morning session with Santner leading the charge. Post lunch, with only Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja left as recognized batters, the latter decided to take his chances and reduce the deficit. The approach was quite effective as Ajaz Patel was put under some pressure. But Jadeja’s charge was halted by Santner as he completed his five-fer before finishing with seven.
Having fetched a vital lead over 100, New Zealand’s openers made a good start as well, thus increasing the pressure over India. Ashwin and Washington managed to bag the wickets of Devon Conway and Will Young but Latham kept going at the other end.
With the surface increasingly expected to get difficult to bat on, New Zealand were determined to add runs quickly. An arm ball from Washington bagged the big wicket of Rachin Ravindra but Daryl Mitchell swept his third ball for a boundary signaling his intentions. Washington eventually got his man as Mitchell couldn’t time a slog to perfection, to get caught at long on.
The wickets didn’t stop the flow of runs though as New Zealand continued to milk the bowling attack. In fact, India didn’t bowl a single maiden in the first 40 overs of the innings. Washington’s 11th wicket of the Test ensured Latham missed a ton but his 86 is now a massive contribution considering the context of the Test match.
Once they had got off to a start and the field had spread, Latham pitched his tent for a long innings while the others batted more briskly around him. Washington went on to convert his first-innings seven-for into only his second ten-wicket match haul in first-class cricket, but New Zealand found runs easier to come by at the other end. Latham missed out on a century, but he had brought New Zealand to a great position.
Road Ahead on Day 3 for India and New Zealand
New Zealand are favourites now to seal the series in Pune itself. What a day they’ve had. Led by a sensational spell from Mitchell Santner, they bundled India out for 156 and secured a big first innings lead of 100-plus. Their batters then came out playing positively and have managed to stretch that lead over 300 which looks massive despite the pitch slowing down a touch. And they’re not done yet either. Washington Sundar, again, was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, picking up four of the five wickets to fall so far.
He has had a brilliant Test match. The same, however, can’t be said of his teammates. The Indian batters found Mitchell Santner too hard to negotiate as he varied his pace, trajectory and angles beautifully. There was enough help in the pitch and Mitchell Santner was on top of his game after a disappointing tour of Sri Lanka recently. As for the Indian bowling, it has been an underwhelming performance from the two lead spinners.
New Zealand took massive strides towards doing the unthinkable: not just their first Test series win in India, but also India’s first series defeat at home in 12 years. Mitchell Santner, never four wickets in an innings before this Test, and with just one first-class five-for to his name, tied India to the crease and took seven wickets to bowl India out for 156. The batters, led by Tom Latham, did some efficient front-running by attacking the Indian spinners to end the day with a lead of 301 runs with five wickets in hand.
So New Zealand hold all the aces going forward in this Test. A lead of 301 already with five wickets yet to come. Can they put the finishing touches on what has been an incredible performance so far or India stage a fightback with the bat would be interesting to see.