IND vs NZ Live Score: Day 3, Session 1 in a nutshell

India got off to a positive start, reaching 81-1 at lunch against New Zealand on the third day of their second Test in Pune on Saturday.

Yashasvi Jaiswal went on the attack with cracking boundaries and remained unbeaten on 46, while Shubman Gill was out on 22 not out after Mitchell Santner took the crucial wicket of Rohit Sharma for eight.

New Zealand were bowled out for 255 in their second innings after skipper Tom Latham’s 86 and handy contributions further down the order put them in commanding position to claim their first win of the series in India.

India’s most successful run-chase at home is the 387-4 win over England in Chennai in 2008, on a far better track than at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, where the spinners wreaked havoc.

The hosts are looking to avoid their first series defeat on home soil since defeat by England in 2012, although their record of 18 consecutive home series wins since that 2-1 is also humbling.

With a lead already over 300 runs on an increasingly tough pitch, New Zealand bounced back to 198-5 and were making good progress in the morning until Ravindra Jadeja sniffed Tom Blundell for 41 for his first wicket of the game.

Santner, who gave the Black Caps the upper hand with 7-53 on Friday, tried to target Jadeja but misread a looped throw from the left-arm spinner and was caught in the deep for four.

Former skipper Tim Southee then almost immediately followed him back into the dugout and edged out spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to Rohit, who showed quick reflexes to take a sharp catch at slip, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

Washington Sundar grabbed a great running catch in the deep when Ajaz Patel fell to Jadeja for one, while William O’Rourke was thrown out by the bowler for a duck and Glenn Phillips was stranded not out with a well-made 48.