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India vs New Zealand Live Score: New Zealand eye historic series win
New Zealand were in sight of a historic series win in India after spinner Mitchell Santner took 7-53 to help bowl out the hosts cheaply.
A stunned India fell to 156 all out in their reply, gifting the visitors a first-innings lead of 103 on a turning Pune pitch.
New Zealand, who have never won a Test series in India and lead the three-match series 1-0, were 198-5 at stumps in their second knock, a lead of 301, after skipper Tom Latham hit 86.
India vs New Zealand Live Score: Morkel lauds well-prepared New Zealand
Morkel praised New Zealand for arriving well-prepared for the tour.
"I must give credit to New Zealand. The way they've adapted to conditions, the way they've sort of blocked out what is in front of them and just played the game, it's been incredible so far in this series," he said.
"Definitely in Bangalore and here, playing those sessions, playing those important moments they've done it better than us at the moment."
"And that's one of the reasons why they're on top of this game at the moment. They're creating pressure with the ball. They're putting our bowlers under pressure by sweeping and reverse-sweeping well.
"They're a team that plans well, they go into tours and really leave no stone unturned so I'm not surprised by the way they're playing at the moment," he added.
India vs New Zealand Live Score: 'India must maintain belief'
Morkel stated that India must maintain belief and rely on their understanding of the conditions to avoid losing both the match and the series.
"We have to believe. This game is a funny game. Our guys are attacking players, there's guys that know these conditions well. Our talk before this game was that we are masters in these conditions, we know how to sum these conditions up," he said.
"Let's be honest, it's going to be a tough task. But what an opportunity for somebody to really inspire and put in a fighting and a top performance - that's the way I see it.
"When conditions are tricky and tough you'll see real people stand up and fight and if we show that fight and somebody gets the momentum going in these conditions, you never know," he said.
Morkel mentioned that the hosts aimed to survive the overs on Day One, reaching 16/1 in 11 overs, before building momentum on Day Two.
"I think they (New Zealand) bowled very well in partnership. Watching from the outside, it was very hard for us to rotate strike, to keep the scoreboard ticking," he said.
"In these sort of conditions where the ball is turning and asking a lot of questions, it is important to do that.
"The pace that (Mitchell) Santner bowled today in particular, was spot on for this surface. On Day Two, arriving here this morning being one down, our camp was very confident that we were going to bat big but unfortunately we just couldn't get that momentum going," he added.
India vs New Zealand Live Score: Lack of first-innings runs hurting India's chances, admits Morne Morkel
The Indian cricket team's batting woes in the first innings have become a major concern, as acknowledged by bowling coach Morne Morkel. The team's inability to post substantial totals is proving to be detrimental to their chances of success, with India facing the possibility of losing their first Test series on home soil since the 2012-13 season.
Following their dismal performance in the opening Test, where they were dismissed for a paltry 46 in the first innings, India's batting struggles continued in the second Test in Pune.
The hosts were once again bundled out for a meager 156 in their first essay on Friday, allowing New Zealand to seize control of the match and put the Indian team under immense pressure.
"I never like to have a punch up between batters and bowlers but, in Test match cricket you need to score the first innings runs," Morkel told the media during the post-day press meet.
"If we put our hand up, we haven't been able to do that. There are world class players in our batting line up. I know that individually, they've got their processes and they know how to go about those things," he added.
Morkel expressed hope for a stronger performance from the Indian batters in the second innings.
"Hopefully, we can iron those mistakes out because it's costing us at the moment - not getting the runs on the board - but I'm pretty sure there's enough experience, enough knowledge amongst them to rectify that," he added.
"I back the team (to come up) with a strong response in our second innings. I'm excited to see how they bounce back and how they play this situation and the conditions," he said.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri expressed his dissatisfaction with Rohit Sharma's captaincy, criticising it as overly defensive on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand in Pune on Friday.
During the second session of Day 2, Shastri and former India spinner Murali Kartik engaged in a detailed discussion about Rohit's tactics.
Kartik noted that the New Zealand batters had effectively pushed the Indian fielders back, leaving no one close to the bat. At that moment, Tom Latham and Will Young were batting aggressively, prompting Rohit to spread the field to contain their scoring.
Shastri pointed out that with India conceding a lead of over 100 runs, they needed to bowl out New Zealand for just 120. He emphasized that an attacking field was essential and criticized the strategy of spreading the field as soon as a bowler conceded a few runs.
"New Zealand have managed to scatter away all the men around the bat," Kartik highlighted.
"Also tells you, tactically, how you should be thinking. India should be thinking how to bowl out New Zealand for 120. For that to happen, you need to think about wickets, you need people in attacking positions. Yes, if the side gets to 60 for no loss, you can start to think differently. It also makes the bowler think that he wants wickets, not with a spread out field like this," Shastri reckoned.
India vs New Zealand Live Score: Santner, the wrecker-in-chief for Kiwis
Santner sparkled for New Zealand with his left-arm spin as he claimed his first five-wicket haul in 29 Test appearances to trump India at their own game of spin.
Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with 38 but India's batting fell apart, with the hosts bowled out in the second session in just 45.3 overs.
Overnight batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill started cautiously before Santner struck in the 11th over of the day.
He trapped Gill lbw for 30 with a slider to the right-hander.
The home fans were then stunned into silence when Santner took the prized wicket of Kohli, bowled on a low full toss for one.
Off-spinner Phillips struck on his fourth ball to get the left-handed Jaiswal caught at slip for 30 to leave the hosts on 70-4 and then 83-5 when he bowled Rishabh Pant for 18.
First-match centurion Sarfaraz Khan managed 11 before Santner got him caught at mid-on.
India resumed the day on 16-1 and their batting collapse was the second in the series after they fell to 46 all out in the first Test in Bengaluru for their lowest-ever home total.
India vs New Zealand Live Score: New Zealand on top
New Zealand extended their lead to a commanding 301 after spinner Mitchell Santner took 7-53 to bowl out India cheaply on day two of the second Test on Friday.
India fell to 156 all out, giving the visitors a lead of 103 on a turning pitch in Pune at the end of the first innings.
New Zealand, who lead the three-match series 1-0, were 198-5 at stumps in their second knock after skipper Tom Latham hit 86.
Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, on 30, and Glenn Phillips, on nine, were batting at close of play to raise New Zealand hopes of a first-ever Test series win in India.
Spinner Washington Sundar grabbed four wickets to take his match tally to 11 after returning figures of 7-59 against the Kiwis on day one.
Sundar trapped Devon Conway lbw for 17 in New Zealand's second innings before senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin sent back Will Young for 23 before tea.
Sundar also bowled Rachin Ravindra for nine as the left-hander went back for a cut only to miss and the skidding ball hit the off-stump. Daryl Mitchell soon fell for 18.
Latham reached his fifty and kept firm in a 60-run partnership with Blundell until his departure when Sundar trapped the left-hander lbw.
Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of Day 3 of the second Test between India and New Zealand in Pune.
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