Team India’s batsmen collapsed on the second day of the Pune Test. No batsman could score a half-century. The entire team collapsed for just 156 runs. New Zealand’s left arm spinner Mitchell Santner had a big role in this. Team India’s batting line up completely disintegrated in front of him. More than half of the team’s batsmen became his victims. Santner took 7 wickets for 53 runs in the Pune Test. After the end of the second day’s play, he revealed the secret of his success against the Indian batsmen. He told how he was successful in taking wickets because of Washington Sundar.
How did Sundar help Santner?
Washington Sundar bowled excellently during New Zealand’s first innings. He took 7 wickets for 59 runs and proved to be the most successful bowler. Mitchell Santner revealed during the press conference after the end of the game on the second day that he was watching his bowling. The idea of using angle and pace came after seeing his bowling.
Santner told that during the entire innings, he was just trying to bowl the ball at the right angle and pace like Sundar. He was trying to keep the ball speed up to 90. As the game progressed, he also changed the pace. Because of this he got success and he was successful in giving his team a lead of 103 runs.
Took 5 wickets for the first time
The Indian team started the second day with the loss of 1 wicket. The team got its second blow at the score of 50. Santner opened his account by dismissing Shubman Gill. After this he did not stop. He took a total of 7 wickets including Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan.
Along with this, he also achieved the feat of taking the first 5 wicket haul in his Test career. Not only this, he has also become the third bowler in terms of best performance for New Zealand in India. Earlier in 2021, Ajaz Patel had taken 10 wickets for 119 runs. Whereas in 1976, Richard Hadlee took 7 wickets for 23 runs. Now Santner has taken 7 wickets for 53 runs.
