Mumbai, Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin took advantage of the spin-friendly conditions and made their way through the New Zealand batting line-up to take India to a level from which they can force a face-saving victory in the third Test, which is now set for a thrilling Test heading towards finish.

New Zealand ended the second day at 171 for nine with an overall lead of 143, which may seem small, but even a target close to 150 would be a serious challenge for the Indian batters given the rapidly deteriorating track at Wankhede.

This came after half-centuries from Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, and a crucial 38 not out from Washington Sundar gave India a narrow lead of 28 runs as they posted 263.

A total of 15 wickets fell on the second day, underlining the fact that life will not be easy for the hosts on the fourth bat.

Ashwin found his rhythm while Jadeja added four more dismissals after his 5/65 in the first essay to keep India's hopes alive of staving off a clean sweep at home for the first time.

Ajaz Patel was at the crease when Jadeja cleared Matt Henry for the penultimate wicket on the last ball on day two.

Will Young's gutsy 51 was the only resistance from the Kiwis, who succumbed to the pressure after Patel recorded another five-wicket haul.

Having looked subdued so far, Ashwin's joy at overpowering Rachin Ravindra was evident as he fended off the batter's attack with bounce and turn.

While Glenn Phillips made good use of the long handle, Ashwin cleared the New Zealand batsman and provided another crucial breakthrough.

Young, who batted as solidly as he had in the first innings, was Ashwin's third victim, giving the bowler catching practice after he was outwitted with a carrom ball.

The 37-year-old Ashwin made an impact beyond his bowling as he took an outstanding catch to end a stubborn 50-run partnership between Young and Daryl Mitchell that was in danger of losing the game for a while.

Young and Mitchell had consolidated the balance after New Zealand's top-order had been destroyed, but the latter's attack on Jadeja proved costly as he failed to get the required distance with his strike.

From the middle, Ashwin covered 19 meters sideways to his left and made a fantastic dive to throw the ball, which crumbled the New Zealand post even further.

Tom Blundell chopped a shot from Jadeja onto his stumps while Ashwin removed Phillips, who had switched to aggressive batting knowing New Zealand desperately needed more runs.

Early in the Kiwis' reply, Akash provided the rare sight of a pacer disturbing a batsman's furniture while turning as he dismantled Tom Latham's off and middle stumps in the first over.

Earlier, India's progress suffered a major setback with the exit of Pant towards the end of the morning session, the impact of which was clearly felt when play resumed after lunch.

From Pant's dismissal in the 38th over to India's eventual fold in the 60th, the team managed eight fours and two sixes – the wicketkeeper-batter alone hit as many in his brisk half-century earlier.

Patel, who found the right length, was rewarded as the New Zealand spinner scored another fiver at the Wankhede Stadium, extending his world record of 10/119 in the first innings of the 2021 Test.

Gill fell short of his century while others continued to disappoint.

Perhaps there was no greater disappointment than seeing Sarfaraz Khan look like a fish out of water during his four-ball contest, failing to open his account on his home ground where he had at times plundered runs for fun.

Unable to calculate the length of his first ball, Sarfaraz, in his pomp, hit a mighty swing against Patel, but was defeated by the bounce and turn on the next ball.

He might have fallen on the third ball as it bounced off his glove, but there was no stupid sense in that.

But he had to go back when the bounce and spin saw the ball land in the gloves of goalkeeper Tom Blundell after he kissed the shoulder of his stick.

Gill, who made no mistakes in his 146-ball stay with seven fours and a six – the longest by any batsman in the Test – was also among Patel's victims that day as the Mumbai-born Kiwi spinner beat him to the first Slip after that caught a nice blow.

Jadeja was also caught at first slip, albeit ahead of Glenn Phillips, as Washington put up a lonely fight among the three all-rounders, scoring a brisk 36-ball 38 with four boundaries and two sixes.

After relinquishing control to New Zealand through an embarrassing collapse in the final minutes of the opening match, India showed greater determination to bounce back quickly.

Pant's quick 60, peppered with eight fours and two sixes, went a long way in denying the advantage to the Kiwis, who were gifted with three unexpected wickets by the Indians, with key batsmen Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal committing harakiri.

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