Washington Sundar's sensational spell puts India in command

Earlier in the day, Washington Sundar stole the limelight with his best bowling performance in which New Zealand were bowled out for 259 runs. Sundar, playing his first game in the series, made an immediate impact by picking up 7 wickets in just 59 runs. His stellar effort, which included dismissing five batsmen through clean deliveries, left New Zealand's line-up in disarray after a solid start to their top order.

Devon Conway (62) and Rachin Ravindra (56) were the standouts for the Kiwis, fighting back with well-composed half-centuries. however, Sundar's crisp bowling turned the tide in India's favourpreventing New Zealand from taking advantage of their platform and bundling them up for a pittance.

Sundar, who was added to the squad ahead of the 2nd Test, returned to the playing XI with a fiery batting, making up for his absence in the series opener. His spin, accuracy and ability to extract spin from the ground in Pune proved too much for the visiting side, overshadowing the contributions of Conway and Ravindra.

India now face the challenge of chasing down New Zealand's total with plenty of batting depth, but much depends on the partnership between Gill and Jaiswal as they take on New Zealand's disciplined bowling attack led by Southee.

Day 2 promises to be an exciting contest as India look to take control of the game while New Zealand aim to take advantage of the conditions and make further inroads into the Indian top-order.