Jadeja (5/65) and Sundar (4/81) bowled India into a promising position by dismissing New Zealand for 235, but the Indian top order crumbled quickly in reply, losing three wickets in just eight balls in the final session of the day.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (30) and Shubman Gill (31 not out) had initially steadied India’s innings with a 53-run partnership after Rohit Sharma (18) fell early. However, Jaiswal’s ill-advised reverse slog sweep triggered a sudden collapse, with Virat Kohli (4) running himself out in a moment of poor judgment late in the day, leaving India in trouble.
Rohit’s dismissal, in only his second Test at the Wankhede Stadium, added to the team’s batting struggles. After a couple of elegant strokes, he was dismissed in the seventh over, misjudging a delivery from Matt Henry that found the hands of Tom Latham at second slip.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand’s Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (82) laid a solid foundation for the visitors, but Jadeja’s skillful bowling dismantled their middle and lower order. Jadeja’s five-wicket haul moved him up India’s all-time Test wicket-takers list, surpassing Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, with 314 wickets.
Despite the efforts of Mitchell and Young, New Zealand faltered from a comfortable 159/3 to 235 all out, as Jadeja’s spin proved too much on a challenging, spin-friendly pitch. Mitchell’s gritty 82 included three sixes, but he visibly struggled with the heat, frequently needing breaks to recover.
With their chances of staying in the race for the World Test Championship final on the line, India must now recover from their early batting collapse and build a competitive first-innings total.
