Batsman Rohit Sharma's dominant half-century put India firmly in command of the second Test against New Zealand as the hosts stretched their lead to 339 on the third day in Kolkata on Sunday. India were 227 for eight at stumps in their second innings with Wriddhiman Saha on 39 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar on eight at the crease. New Zealand bowlers Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner took three wickets each.
Sharma, who scored 82, put on 103 runs for the seventh wicket with Saha to get their second innings back on track after the New Zealand seamers rattled the Indian top-order with regular wickets.
Fast bowlers Henry and Trent Boult shared five wickets between them to strike back on the two-paced pitch after the visitors conceded a 112-run lead.
"I think over the last two days, you may have seen the wicket that it's not a typical Kolkata wicket. They have relaid the surface and you may seen uneven bounces occasionally," Sharma told reporters.
"The conditions were not easy... you can't relax."
Henry, who had returned with figures of 3-46 in the first innings, sent opener Murali Vijay (4) and Cheteshwar Pujara walking back to the pavilion soon after the lunch break.
Henry trapped Pujara lbw for 7 on a pacy in-cutter that hit the outside of the batsman's front pad, but TV replays suggested that the ball might have missed the leg stump. Boult joined forces to get Shikhar Dhawan, who got a nasty blow on his thumb early on in the innings against the left-handed pacer, trapped lbw for 17.
Boult's big wicket was that of India skipper Virat Kohli, who struck a purposeful 45 to lift India from 43/4. The star batsman was trapped lbw.
Kohli's departure once again raised New Zealand's hopes of a fightback but Sharma made sure the hosts kept up the good work of stretching their lead further.
Sharma tackled the New Zealand bowling with aplomb as the middle-order batsman struck 9 fours and 2 sixes during his 132-ball stay at the crease.
Sharma got good support from number-eight Saha, who scored an unbeaten 54 in the first innings, as the batting duo entertained the raucous home crowd at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. "That depth gives you a leverage to play your shots and be aggressive and more expressive," Sharma said while talking about India's lower-order batting strength. Santner's left-arm spin finally got through Sharma's defenses after the batsman was caught behind to Luke Ronchi, who kept wickets in place of BJ Watling.
Saha and Kumar then played through the final few overs in fading light until the umpires called it a day.
"I think anything that is set, is definitely achievable," said Boult about the New Zealand squad's mindset.
"We got to take small steps at a time. If we can set small goals of batting for half a session and then a session." Earlier Indian pacers Kumar and Mohammed Shami helped bowl out New Zealand for 204 in response to India's first innings score of 316.
Scoreboard
India 1st innings: 316 (Cheteshwar Pujara 87, Ajinkya Rahane 77; Matt Henry 3-46)
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New Zealand 1st innings: overnight 128/7
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M. Guptill b Kumar 13
T. Latham lbw b Shami 1
H. Nicholls b Kumar 1
R. Taylor c Vijay b Kumar 36
L. Ronchi lbw b Jadeja 35
M. Santner lbw b Kumar 11
BJ. Watling lbw b Shami 25
M. Henry b Kumar 0
J. Patel c Shami b Ashwin 47
N. Wagner lbw b Shami 10
T. Boult not out 6
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Extras: (b 9, lb 4, w 5, nb 1) 19
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Total: (all out; 53 overs) 204
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Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Latham), 2-18 (Guptill), 3-23 (Nicholls), 4-85 (Ronchi), 5-104 (Taylor), 6-122 (Santner), 7-122 (Henry), 8-182 (Patel), 9-187 (Watling), 10-204 (Wagner)
Bowling: Kumar 15-2-48-5, Shami 18-1-70-3, Jadeja 12-4-40-1 (nb1), Ashwin 8-3-33-1
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India 2nd innings:
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M. Vijay c Guptill b Henry 7
S. Dhawan lbw b Boult 17
C. Pujara lbw b Henry 4
V. Kohli lbw b Boult 45
A. Rahane c Boult b Henry 1
R. Sharma c Ronchi b Santner 82
R. Ashwin lbw b Santner 5
W. Saha not out 39
R. Jadeja c Neesham (sub) b Santner 6
B. Kumar not out 8
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Extras: (b 10, lb 1, w 2) 13
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Total: (8 wkts; 63.2 overs) 227
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Fall of wicket: 1-12 (Vijay), 2-24 (Pujara), 3-34 (Dhawan), 4-43 (Rahane), 5-91 (Kohli), 6-106 (Ashwin), 7-209 (Sharma), 8-215 (Jadeja)
Bowling: Boult 14-5-28-2, Henry 15.2-2-48-3, Wagner 13-2-43-0 Patel 8-0-50-0, Santner 13-1-51-3
To bat: M. Shami Toss: India
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Rod Tucker (AUS) TV umpire: CK Nandan (IND)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Reserve umpire: Nitin Menon (IND).
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