Mitchell Santner reveals how Washington Sundar helped him demolish Indian batting unit in Pune

The 32-year-old New Zealand National Cricket Team all-rounder Mitchell Santner revealed how the young India National Cricket Team all-rounder Washington Sundar helped him dismantle the Indian batting unit in the second Test.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune is hosting the high-profile match between India and New Zealand, which has seen the Black Caps dominate the first two days of the play.

Mitchell Santner destroys India to register his best bowling figures

Santner turned out to be a nightmare for the India National Cricket Team on day 2 of the Pune Test. He bowled exceptional lines and lengths and didn't let the batters settle in the middle. The left-arm spinner also picked up wickets at regular intervals and bowled out the opposition for 156 in 45.3 overs.

Mitchell Santner dismissed Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep, and Jasprit Bumrah to finish with the career-best 7 for 53 and helped New Zealand take a 103-run lead.

This was the first five-wicket haul of Mitchell Santner's Test career. Also, this was the second-best Test innings figures for New Zealand in India, the third-best Test innings figures for New Zealand against India, and eighth equal-best innings figures in New Zealand Test history.

It’s a great feeling to put ourselves in a position of winning a Test match here - Mitchell Santner

At stumps on day 2, New Zealand were at 198/5 and were leading by 301 runs. They are on the verge of breaking India's winning streak in the home Test series, and Mitchell Santner is delighted with that.

Speaking to Murali Kartik after the play on day 2, Mitchell Santner stated that he was happy with his performance with the ball. He stated:

"It’s a great feeling to put ourselves in a position of winning a Test match here. It doesn’t look easy and we knew partnerships were key, glad we could perform well today.

"We spoke about trying to find the right speed on this wicket, as the day went along the slower ones started to spin and it was about trying to put it in the right areas."

I watched Washi go wide of the crease earlier, tried to do the same - Mitchell Santner

While talking about bowling from wide of the crease, Mitchell Santner said that he saw Washington Sundar, who picked 7 wickets in the previous innings, and tried to emulate his style, which helped him achieve success. He said:

"(On bowling wide of the crease) Just tried to change the angles, induce the play and miss and vary it out. I watched Washi go wide of the crease earlier, tried to do the same."

Mitchell Santner also spoke about his good performances in India, saying that the spinning pitches have played a key role in his success. He asserted:

"(On performing well in India) I guess the pitches spin, which is nice. We don’t get that back home. The pitches here provide some good assistance for the spinners. I think the pitch is doing a little bit, it is not easy but we spoke about trying to fire shots and not sit there trying to scratch it out. On the flip side, I think when we bowl in the second innings, India will also try to place some shots. We just need to be accurate."