Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 17 : New Zealand have grasped complete control over India on Day 2 of the opening Test despite Kuldeep Yadav scything a wicket towards the end on Thursday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
At the end of the second session, New Zealand posted 82/1 on the board with Devon Conway and Will Young unbeaten with scores of 61(64) and 5(7), respectively.
Towards the end of the session, 'Chinaman' spinner Kuldeep Yadav got the much-needed breakthrough to offer some relief to the hosts, who are looking well set to run away with the opening Test.
At the beginning of post-lunch, Ravichandran Ashwin edged it straight to Glenn Phillips, handing Matt Henry his fourth wicket of the day.
Henry and William ORourke ran riots and bamboozled India's formidable-looking batting lineup in Bengaluru. The duo removed the host's tail end, forcing India to succumb on a mere total of 46, their lowest in the format on home soil.
In reply, New Zealand's Devon Conway started out strongly making the pitch look a completely different version of the one that India batted on.
He took the brunt of scoring runs and pulled out a couple of traditional strokes to perfection. His classic strokeplay effectively negated the threat Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj carried in the initial overs.
Looking to enforce a change, skipper Rohit Sharma introduced spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav to do the trick.
Kuldeep eventually got the breakthrough but it was New Zealand who stayed in control after the second session.
Earlier in the day, Tim Southee set the tone of the day by nipping one back into Rohit, beating the inside edge and knocking the top of the leg stump.
With the Indian skipper back in the dugout with a score of 2, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to steady the ship under gruelling conditions.
The scorching deliveries from New Zealand pacers continued to unsettle the Indian duo, leading to a mouth-watering contest between the bat and the ball.
New Zealand's hopes for a dream start turning into reality continued to haunt India after Kohli started walking back without troubling the scorers.
ORourke silenced the crowd at M Chinnaswamy Stadium by extracting extra bounce off the surface with his bounce, taking Kohli by surprise.
The Indian stalwart tried to defend the ball off his toes but ended up gloving it to Glenn Phillips, who came flying from leg gully to take a stunning catch. This was Kohli's first duck in 32 innings, with his last coming against the same opposition in 2021 at Wankhede.
With Kohli joining Rohit in the dressing room in the opening hour for a 9-ball duck, India's woes rose to new levels in the next over.
Sarfaraz Khan, who got his much-awaited opportunity, slapped the ball with the bottom edge of the bat. Devon Conway sprang to his right at extra cover to complete a screamer of a catch.
With Sarfaraz returning back with a three-ball duck, Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal eased the nerves by forging a 21-run partnership. The rain momentarily haunted the play, allowing India to reorganize their plans.
Tom Blundell dropped a straightforward catch, offering Pant and the Indian team a moment of reprieve.
With a couple of boundaries and the Indian batters growing in confidence, Jaiswal tried to slap the ball towards the backward point. He went with power but failed to get the placement right. Ajaz Patel leapt low and completed a remarkable catch to end Jaiswal's stay at the crease.
KL Rahul came in and was welcomed by ORourke by smashing the ball straight into the Indian's glove. With Rahul rattled, ORourke came back in his next over to take the rewards for his efforts.
With India itching to score runs, ORourke lured Rahul into making a blunder and tickled the ball down to Blundell's left. With Rahul becoming the third batter to register a duck for India, Ravindra Jadeja became the fourth to enter the list.
A miscued shot from the experienced southpaw was enough for Henry to show him the way back to the dugout for a six-ball duck.
Jadeja's dismissal marked the final action of the first session as the umpires decided to call for lunch, with India's scoreboard reading 34/6.
Brief Score: India 46 (Rishabh Pant 20; Matt Henry 5-15, William ORourke 4-22) vs New Zealand 82/1 (Devon Conway 61, Tom Latham 15; Kuldeep Yadav 1-15).