A spectacular seven-wicket haul by Mitchell Santner helped New Zealand dismiss India for 156 before the tourists reached 198 for five at stumps on day two of the second Test in Pune on Friday to consolidate their grip on the three-match series .

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

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 points came quickly and too easily for New Zealand.

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

India are seeking a 19th straight home series win since the 2-1 defeat to England in 2012, but will need a battle to draw level with New Zealand ahead of the final in Mumbai early next month.

Santner had earlier posted career-best figures of seven for 53 while Phillips bagged two for 26 as the spinners continued to shine at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, with Washington taking seven for 59 on the first day.

The hosts resumed at 16 for one after losing captain Rohit Sharma for a nine-ball duck on Thursday evening, and Shubman Gill was fortunate to survive a loud appeal for lbw on Santner’s third ball of the morning when he was on 10.

Santner trapped Gill plumb in front for 30 and the left-armer struck again, bowling Virat Kohli for one with an inviting full toss that the batsman missed. Mitchell took a sharp catch at slip when Phillips dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal for 30 and the tourists could have got another had the fielder saved a difficult chance as Santner forced an edge onto Sarfaraz Khan’s sword.

Rishabh Pant was bowled for 18 by Phillips after a loose shot and Santner had Sarfaraz caught at 11 to leave India on the ropes at 95 for six, with both their batting heroes from the opening match back in the dugout.

Santner trapped Ashwin lbw for four and similarly removed Ravindra Jadeja after the batsman made a challenging 38, before getting one through Akash Deep’s defence.

He then snared Jasprit Bumrah for a duck to ensure New Zealand would start their second innings with a lead of 103, and India stared down the barrel at a first home series defeat in twelve years.