India’s suffering continued in the 2nd Test against New Zealand in Pune. The Indian team was wrapped up for 156 runs in their first inning, which handed New Zealand a massive 103-run lead, which went up to 301 by the end of Day 2.
Mitchell Santner was the star for New Zealanders as he picked up a career-best of 7 wickets for 53 wickets. His performance came out as that of Washington Sundar, who made a 7-wicket haul on the previous day. Santner did not let the Indian batters stay on the pitch for long time with his spin bowling. He bagged the important wickets of Shubman Gill (30), Virat Kohli (1), Sarfaraz Khan (11), Ravindra Jadeja (38), and then went on to dismiss finisher R Ashwin (4), Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah.
After he put India to the risk of defeat with his spin on Day 2, Santner revealed how he tried to play with angles and how he watched Washington Sundar to take some notes.
“[How to bowl on this pitch?] We spoke about it the other day. Tried to find the right speed. It changed as the game went on. I just tried to keep the speed to 90. And tried to keep it there. Tried to change the speed later on, but it was good. [Going wide of the crease] I just tried to play with angles. Tried to vary it up. Just watched Washy (Washington Sundar) and that looked cool so I thought will do that,” Santner said at the post-day conversation.
