: A spectacular seven-wicket haul by Mitchell Santner helped New Zealand bowl India out for 156 before the tourists reached 198-5 at stumps on day two of the second Test in Pune on Friday to- and tighten their grip on the three-game series.

Tom Blundell was unbeaten on 30 and Glenn Phillips batted on nine as the Black Caps, who won the series opener by eight wickets, extended their lead to 301 at the close after scoring 259 in the first half.

“It’s a great feeling, but to put ourselves in a position to potentially win a Test here is pretty cool,” Santner said.

“The way the boys batted there, it doesn’t look easy and we knew getting partnerships was key. We were able to do that today, which was great.”

Washington Sundar dismissed Devon Conway for 17, Rachin Ravindra for nine and Daryl Mitchell for 18 while Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Will Young for 23, but the runs came quickly and too easily for New Zealand.

New skipper Tom Latham returned to form with a timely 86 but became Washington’s fourth late afternoon victim after putting the tourists in a strong position to secure their first series win in India .

India are seeking their 19th consecutive home series win since losing 2-1 to England in 2012, but will need a fighting effort to match New Zealand ahead of the final in Mumbai early next month.

Santner earlier posted career-best figures of 7-53 while Phillips took 2-26 as the spinners continued to shine at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium where Washington took 7-59 on the first day .

The hosts resumed 16-1 after losing captain Rohit Sharma for a nine-ball duck and Shubman Gill was lucky to survive a strong lbw call on the third ball of the morning from Santner when he was on 10.

Back in the side, having missed the series-opening defeat in Bengaluru due to a stiff neck, Gill shrugged off the early scare and went on the attack from the onrushing Tim Southee for a six.

FAST GRAVE

Santner caught Gill in front for 30 and the left-armer struck again, dropping Virat Kohli for one with a tantalizing full toss that the batsman missed completely as two quick shots rattled India.

“We tried to find the right speed on that wicket. It changed as the game went on,” Santner added.

“The slower ones started to spin a bit more and we tried to put it in the right areas. I got a little greedy later on with the pace changes, but it was nice to see it spin.

“We don’t get to hear that at home. So as a spin unit when we come here, we know it’s always a challenge, but he can provide support, which is nice.”

Yashasvi Jaiswal led and swept the bowlers and looked much calmer at the other end, although the left-hander was lucky that his shot off Ajaz Patel fell into no-man’s land on 16.

Mitchell managed to take a sharp catch at slip as Phillips dismissed Jaiswal for 30 and the tourists could have had another if the player had kept a tough chance when Santner forced an edge off his blade Sarfaraz Khan.

Rishabh Pant was dropped for 18 by Phillips after a free kick and Santner had Sarfaraz caught for 11 to leave India on the ropes at 95-6 with both their batting heroes from the opening game back in the dugout.

Santner caught Ashwin lbw for four and removed Ravindra Jadeja in similar fashion after the batsman made a defiant 38 before getting one through the defense of Akash Deep.

He then caught Jasprit Bumrah for a duck to ensure New Zealand would start the second innings with a 103-run lead.