India vs New Zealand 1st Test Day 2 Highlights: Kane Williamson’s 89 puts Kiwis in driver’s seat

Colin de Grandhomme recently gained form with a quickfire half-century in the last ODI against India. Grandhomme comes to the crease, rocks back and hits the loose delivery from Ishant Sharma for a boundary through the gap between point and cover. NZ - 212/5, lead by 47 runs

R Ashwin finally picks up his first wicket of the match in his 21st over. Ashwin squares up Nicholls as he edges the ball to second-slip fielder Virat Kohli. The Kiwi batsman is out for 17. India will look to wrap up this innings quickly and minimise the lead. NZ - 207/5

New partnership building. BJ Watling has been in good form in the Test format. Watling performed well against Australia in the Test series previous year. Meanwhile, Henry Nicholls hits a boundary off Mohammed Shami. Nicholls is doing the hard work to survive after struggling in the middle early on in his innings. NZ - 202/4 

Ashwin bowls his 20th over. Watling pushes him away through the gaps as Ashwin strays on the overpitched side. Batsmen scamper through for two. Ashwin's figures 0/55 after 20 overs. NZ lead by 31 runs

There is a considerable interruption for the drinks break as the players stretch their limbs a bit and India change their field around considerably. The light is starting to become a bit of an issue. The last half an hour of play coming up and this is the most tricky period that a batsman can be batting in. Nicholls starts off proceedins after the break by timing Shami beautifully on the leg side between mid on and mid wicket for four. He has been in the middle for a long time. This was his best shot yet. NZ 194/4 after 67 overs, lead by 29 runs

Singles coming a  bit more freely now. Nicholls and Watling seem to have overcome some initial pressure after the Williamson wicket. Drinks are called for.  Ashwin yet to take his first wicket in New Zealand. Bumrah also yet to register today. NZ 190/4 after 66 overs

India look a bit more excited around the batsman after that Williamson wicket. Ashwin's deliveries are generating more excitement. BJ Watling and Henry Nicholls can be targeted now. India sniff a way back into the game. New Zealand are only 22 runs ahead right now. If India can claw their way back into this now, they will go into the second innings with a lot of hope. NZ 187/4 after 64 overs

Williamson throws it away! A half volley by Shami and Williamson cannot resist throwing his bat at it. Short cover Ravindra Jadeja, on as a sub fielder, clutches on to the catch. New ealand lose their skipper. Williamson was looking set for a 100, he was looking in sublime touch, but he has to depart for 89. He walks off like he cannot believe how cheaply that end came about. NZ 185/4 after 62.4 overs

Shami returns to the bowling attack to replace Bumrah. Williamson cuts him for a double before third man cuts it off. Williamson then pulls Shami. Again, 2 runs. Shami is being attacked by Williamson. Maybe his line and length not the best at the moment. 

Bumrah bowls a maiden over. Nicholls plays six dot balls but there were som good shots in that over. All of them straight to the fielders inside the circle though. Kohli persisting with the Ashwin+pacer combination. We are reaching the normally scheduled close of play. But we are set to have play extended by an hour today to make up for the rained out third session yesterday. NZ 180/3 after 61 overs

Again, just the one run from Ashwin's over. But this time it is Nicholls who gets the single. Nicholls looking a little more comfortable in the middle now than a few overs ago. 

Nicholls hits only his third scoring shot in the half hour that he has been at the crease for. Pushes Bumrah down the leg side for a single. Williamson then breaks the shackles with a leg glance played very fine for four. After a period of pressure, it is Wiliamson again who comes up with the attacking shot. He moves to 84. New Zealand 179/3 after 59 overs, lead by 14 runs.

Bumrah gives just 1 run off his over too. One single by Williamson and five dot balls faced by Nicholls. Nicholls has evidently decided to listen to his partner and not worry about getting runs. When Ross Taylor was in there, him and Williamson were carting the runs along. Ever since Taylor's wicket, there has been a disturbance in the run rate. Williamson moves to 79 with a single in the 58th over. Nicholls still on 2. NZ 173/3 after 58 overs, lead by 8 runs.

Ashwin bowls another over without giving much away. This is the role Kohli wants him to play. To hold one end as Ishant attacks from the other end. Nicholls looking susceptible outside his off stump at the moment. Bumrah is brought back from the other end though. No bowler other than Ishant has taken a wicket in this innings so far. NZ 172/3, lead by 6 runs

Henry Nicholls still having a nervous time out there. Williamson seen going up to him to have a chat with him. Ishant the man responsible for this mid-pitch chatter. He dug it in short, forcing Nicholls to tentatively poke at it. Lands short of the fielder but India sniff a window back into the game now. NZ 170/3 after 55 overs

Ashwin replaces Bumrah. 0/43 in his 12 overs so far. He has been required to play the conservative role today, Ashwin. he has extricated dangerous turn from time to time but he has been largely ineffectual today. His 13th over passes without much incident. Williamson, now on 75, surely holds the key. If India can get his wicket now, they could still say they have a fair hold on this game. New Zealand 167/3 after 54 overs

Henry Nicholls, who has come in at No.5, is beaten by Ishant as he faces his first ball. His figures are 3/23 in his 13 overs today. Sensational shift put in by Ishant today. That was a wicket maiden over. NZ 166/3 after 53 overs

Ross Taylor is gone. Ishant Sharma the man who strikes again. Taylor, who was looking so comfortable in the middle, is caught by Pujara. He walks off for 44. India, who have just gone behind in terms of runs in the match, finally have a wicket to celebrate. New Zealand 166/3 after 52.1 overs.

New Zealand cross India's score in the 52nd over. Williamson has mobved to his 70s while Taylor is approaching his 50. NZ 166/2 after 52 overs

New Zealand now trail only by 6 runs. 159/2 after 50 overs. Taylor and Williamson are not giving the Indians any sight of wickets right now. Ishant Sharma is back to bowl. Williamson pounces on a wide ball by him and slashes at it for another four.

Cracking shot from Williamson to get another boundary. Again overpitched from Bumrah, and Williamson only needs to play a front foot push and watch it race away to the fence. Another similarly timed shot is then cut off by short cover. Exquisite driving from Williamson. 150 comes up for New Zealand. NZ 152/2 after 48 overs

Two singles off the 46th over as Bumrah is brought back to bowl. No luck for any bowler other than Ishant so far today. The day would just start to feel like a long day for the Indians. Ross Taylor plays a glorious cover drive off Shami then. Perfectly placed between the gap. Timed so perfectly it flew to the fence. India starting to look toothless against this partnership. NZ 148/2 after 47 overs

Shami strays down Ross Taylor's pads and Taylor obliges by playing it fine for four. Long leg is too square to cut that off. We are down to only one slip now. India have retreated to having a very conservative field as Williamson and Taylor take command of this match. They trail by 23 runs. NZ 142/2 after 45 overs

The ball from Ashwin sat up for Williamson, inviting to be hit. Williamson's footwork has been immaculate today. It is immaculate on this occasion too. Another boundary - his 8th of the day - for the Kiwi skipper. He moves into his 60s. India's lead down to 28 runs. NZ 137/2 after 44 overs

Williamson drives a wide delivery from Shami for four through the covers. Williamson is taking total comand of this match now. The fielder in the off side did not move a bit when that shot was hit. Williamson's innings is having this sort of a freezing effect on the Indian team. The match is being taken completely out of their hands and they are not being able to do much about it. The 50-run partnership has also been brought up between Williamson and Taylor. NZ 131/2 after 43 overs

Wonderful shot from Williamson and a great way to bring up his 52nd half century in Test cricket. Great use of the feet to step out to Ashwin and swatted on the leg side. Couple of bounces and over the rope. NZ 127/2 after 42 overs

We saw how Ross Taylor made the leg slip go out of the equation and then be brought back after a sweep shot for four in the last over. In the first over Taylor was facing Ashwin though, there was something similar. Ross Taylor greeted Ashwin with a slog sweep for six, making Kohli put a deep midwicket fielder in. Ross Taylor has not gone for that shot since then, but what this has done is that it has opened up gaps in the inner circle, making singles easier. Shami comes on to bowl alongside Ashwin. He starts off with a maiden. NZ 121/2 after 41 overs

Ross Taylor plays a cheeky sweep shot for four. No leg slip. Pant cannot react quickly enough to cut that off. Leg slip is brought back after that shot. 5 runs in the first over after the break. NZ 121/2 after 40 overs

All set for the third and final session of the day. Ashwin and Kohli seen in deep discussion near the pitch. Igt is Ashwin who will take the ball first up after the Tea break. Bittersweet Symphony plays on the stadium microphone but it's all bitter for India at the moment. Williamson, on 46, takes strike.

The last ball of the session is driven for a beautiful cover drive by Ross Taylor. That is an expensive over to end the session. In the context of India's modest first innings score and their fast dwindling lead, these are priceless runs. Ross Taylor is on 22 and Kane Williamson is on 46 as New Zealand end the session at 116/2 after 39 overs. They trail India by 49 runs and will be looking to take the lead themselves soon in the third session. Action resumes in 20 minutes.

Kohli is finishing off the 2nd session with Ashwin from one end and Bumrah from another. Ashwin playing the holding role. Bumrah, like Ishant before him, playing the role of the attacker. Not much happening for the Indians at the moment. Ross Taylor gets leg gully in action off Ashwin's bowling. Leg byes signalled. And there are four byes that run over Pant's outstretched hands to end the 39th over. Wide signalled as well. So five crucial runs get subtracted from India's lead. NZ 112/2 after 38.5 overs

Ashwin bowls a maiden. He has continued bowling ever since being brought on to bowl in this session. He has had to play the role New Zealand had Colin de Grandhomme played in the first innings. Ashwin has hardly been as effective as he usually is. The conditions are not in his favour right now. But maybe they will turn his way in the fourth innings. If India can stay in touch of New Zealand in this match. Right now though, New Zealand - only 60 runs behind India and with 8 wickets in hand - are overwhelming favourites. NZ 104/2 after 36 overs

Williamson hits another boundary off Bumrah to take New Zealand past 100 runs. The last ball of the opver is also pushed through the gaps. Given the size opf the ground, the fielder wins the chase in that one. But Williamson moves into his 40s with that. This has been an exquisite display of batsmanship from the Kiwi skipper. New Zealand now trail by as few as 61 runs. They have 8 wickets in hand. NZ 104/2 after 35 overs

Ashwin bowls a clean over to complete the 34th over. New Zealand get 2 runs - one single by Williamson and Taylor each - off the over. Bumrah returns to bowl the 35th over. We're getting to the end of the second session in the day. 

Bumrah bowls a good over to start off his third spell. A maiden over. His third maiden. Beats Williamson with the third ball of the over. Williamson played a flase shot and was lucky not to get an edge. NZ 96/2 after 33 overs

Williamson finds the gap on the off side again. Again, the batsmen scamper through for three runs. Three scoring shots and five runs in that over. New Zealand's score creeps up to three figures. Ashwin completes his 6th over. He has not had much joy so far. Around 15 minutes left in the second session. Bumrah comes back to bowl his 8th over. NZ 96/2 after 32 overs

Streaky! Ross Taylor gets more runs. Fortune favours the brave! He swats his bat at a short delivery wide outside the off stump. The ball hits the back of the bat. That could have gone anywhere but the ball goes over the keeper's head for four. New Zealand's runs have come at a quick rate. Taylor batting at a strike rate of nearly 100. NZ 91/2 after 31 overs

Big shot! Ross Taylor celebrates his 100th Test in style. Gets into double figures with a scooped six off Ashwin. Easy as you like it, that shot. Ashwin gets one to hit Taylor on the pad and goes up in appeal. Taylor finds the gap through the covers for a single off the last ball. A good contest this between Ross Taylor and Ashwin. NZ 85/2 after 30 overs

Another fine over from Ishant. Williamson defends with soft hands. Six dot balls and that is his 5th maiden over. Ishant's figures now 2/11 in 9 overs. He has been the best Indian bowler on show by far today. Ashwin's spin continues at the other end. NZ 78/2 after 29 overs

Half an hour left in the session. New Zealand's deficit down to 87 runs. Williamson and Taylor, their two main batsmen, in the middle. If India can break this partnership in this session, they might yet have a look in in the match. Henry Nicholls the only specialist batsman to come after this. 

Bowled him! Ishant Sharma gets the wicket! Blundell is bowled for 30. Late swing on the ball. Blundell played down the wrong line. That brings some relief for India. Ishant gets his second wicket. Ross Taylor, No.4, comes in to join Williamson. Standing ovation from the crowd as Ross Taylor enters. This is his 100th Test. he is only the fourth New Zealand player to have played 100 Tests. NZ 73/2 after 26.4 overs

Ashwin bowls a ripper! That turned a mile! Through Blundell's gate. Blundell did not have any idea about that. Nobody had any idea about that. Even Pant missed and there is one bye run given away. That is the difference Ashwin can make in the match. Especially in the second innings, he might have a big say in the match. Williamson plays the Indian spinner a bit more deftly. NZ 72/1 after 26 overs

Williamson drives Shami down the ground for four. Cracking shot. The lead is now brought down to double digits. And NZ still have 9 wickets left. And Williamson is looking to be in imperious form. He has caught up with Blundell in terms of run scored even though he has played 30 balls less than the opener. NZ 70/1 after 25 overs

Ashwin bowls his second over after the drinks break and gets big turn with his second ball. Williamson does well to block that out. The last ball of the 24th over beats everything. Blundell is almost done for but the ball strikes bat and then pad. No harm done. Ashwin looking more dangerous than some of India's pacers though. NZ 64/1 after 24 overs

Willaimson steers the first ball of Shami's over for three runs down to third man. Blundell plays the rest of the over without much incident. NZ 63/1 after 23 overs. Drinks are called for. We have completed one hour of the second session and India, though having picked up one wicket in the last hour, are not in any better position in the match. Blundell and Williamson have added 37 runs for this wicket already. New Zealand getting into a strong position with the batting essay too.

Time for spin. Ashwin is brought on for the first time in the 22nd over. And Williamson finds the gap off his bowling too. The Kiwi skipper is looking good. He was out of most of the recent ODI series with an injury. He has returned looking to be in supreme touch in the Test series. NZ 60/1 after 22 overs

Classy shot from Williamson. Crunched through the off side for four.  The last ball of the over is also crunched through the covers by Williamson. Runs starting to come more easily now. The Sun is out in full glory now, the pitch has seemed to flatten out and nothing is going India's way at the moment. Maybe time to bring on Ashwin to try and force something different. NZ 53/1 after 20 overs

Tom Blundell gives Shami the aggressive treatment again. Another short ball. Again Blundell picks up the length early and smashes it on the leg side. Backs it up with a very good leave. Blundell seems to have settled in now after taking 18 balls to get off the mark. With the score inching up to 50, India need another wicket here. This partnership is threatening to bring the difference in runs between the sides to double digits. NZ 44/1 after 19 overs

Bumrah getting into speeds of 140kph more frequently in that over. Williamson offers textbook defensive strokes to counter that. The Kiwi skipper has looked good in the early part of his knock. He has recovered from receiving that blow on his hands from the Ishant bouncer well. NZ 37/1 after 18 overs

Williamson punches Shami for four down to deep backward point. Shami is not happy with something as can be seen from his gesticulations but Williamson played a great shot there. Powerful punch with his feet in the air. Just that one scoring shot in that over. NZ 36/1 after 17 overs

Bumrah bowls a good first ovet to start off his second spell. Interesting to see when Ashwin will be brought on. Ajaz Patel got decent turn and bounce in the one over he was bowled today by New Zealand. Ashwin, who is a much bigger turner of the ball, might have something to say on that. NZ 32/1 after 16 overs

Blundell offers the full face off the bat consistently to Ishant. No runs for the last 10 balls. Blundell breaks the sequence with a strong drive. Ishant faltered on the length. That was too overpitched. Three runs taken. Ishant bowls one down the leg side and Williamson also almost gets a nick on it. Like Ishant had got Latham out. The first 15 overs of the innings are done, and while New Zealand have not been allowed to get away with it, the Indian bowlers have not got their teeth in either. Latham the only wicket to fall, and that had some element of luck in it. Jasprit Bumrah is brought back into the attack in the 16th over. He replaces Shami.

New Zealand's openers were looking to play a little more aggressively after the Lunch break but the wicket of Latham has put the brakes on the scoring a bit. Just 1 run has been scored since then. But then Williamson gets off the mark with a push down the off side for a couple of runs. Shami steaming in.

New Zealand hasn't had a 50+ opening partnership against India at home since 1994. The last opening pair with a 50+ stand was Bryan Young & Blair Hartland in Hamilton in March 1994, which was Kapil Dev's last Test appearance. Blundell and Latham cannot break that jinx either. Ishant and Shami continue their partnership with the ball after the break. NZ 27/1 after 12 overs

Williamson, who took a blow on the gloves from Ishant, is still struggling with it. Looks to be in some discomfort about his bottom hand. The physio is out to take a look at it. The skipper seen wrapping some tape around his fingers between overs. NZ 26/1 after 11 overs

Kane Williamson comes in at No.3. And gets a snorter from Ishant first ball. Grat short delivery. Williamson plays at it awkwardly. Ball lands short of the fielder and trickles harmlessly to him. Ishant is looking to be breathing fire at the moment. India looking much more likely to pick up wickets.

Breakthrough! Ishant gets the wicket! Tom Latham is caught behind. Ishant had strayed down the leg side. He gets a lucky break. Latham gets a tickle onto that ball as it goes through to the keeper. He would have wanted to play a leg glance but was a little too delicate with the touch. NZ 26/1 after 10.2 overs

Shami bowls a short ball. Blundell picks up the length early and pulls Shami with brute force. An attacking shot. Shows that New Zealand are looking to play with more intent after the break. Shami's over had five dot balls and that four. NZ 26/0 after 10 overs

Ishant Sharma makes a good comeback in the over after the boundary. Gets one to go through the gate of the batsman. Shami to bowl the 10th over. NZ 22/0 after 9 overs