Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc on New Zealand batsmen with a five-wicket haul as India maintained complete stranglehold over the tourists on Day Two of the second Test at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
New Zealand made 128 for seven before bad light forced early stumps with wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling and Jeetan Patel on the crease at 12 and 5, respectively. The tourists are still 188 runs behind Virat Kohli's side.
Replying to India's first innings total of 316, New Zealand openers found themselves struggling against the Indian seamers on a pitch offering seam movement and invariable bounce in the morning session.
Bhuvneshwar efficiently utilised the conditions conducive for seamers and scalped five of the seven wickets to fall in the cloudy overhead conditions.
The tourists were reeling at 23-3 before stand-in skipper Ross Taylor (36) and Luke Ronchi steadied the ship briefly with a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Ronchi, who was one of the standout performers for the Kiwis in the first Test, then got dismissed for 35 just before the rain stopped the play for an hour and half.
Once the covers were lifted, New Zealand found themselves in more trouble as they lost three more wickets, including their captain Taylor before bad light put a stop to proceedings.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content