The Black Caps collapsed to 262 after resuming Day Two from a solid position of 152/1. But the most crucial phase was the remaining 47 overs of the day, when India punished the visiting attack to race to 159 for the loss of just one wicket.
With India already 215 runs ahead of the visiting New Zealand side, wicket-keeper BJ Watling still hinges hopes on the morning session on Sunday before throwing in the towel.
The Black Caps collapsed to 262 after resuming Day Two from a solid position of 152/1. But the most crucial phase was the remaining 47 overs of the day, when India punished the visiting attack to race to 159 for the loss of just one wicket.
"We have got to look at that first session tomorrow (Sunday). We've got to focus on restricting them tomorrow (Sunday) morning before trying to deal with our second innings with the bat," said the stumper who scored 21 crucial runs in the first innings before handing over a return catch to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Asked why six of the Kiwi batters were trapped in front of the wicket on Saturday, Watling attributed it to the consistent line of Indian spinners.
"It's good bowling on consistent line. The ball spins sometimes and sometimes not. But it's about the line we need to play on to tackle spinners here in India," said the wicket-keeper batsman.
Keeping in mind how the visitors lost their last five wickets for just 24 runs, the chances of a fightback look bleak, especially against the two rampaging Indian spinners. But the Kiwis are known to fight it out, and that's what Watling said.
"I know we have a great bunch of fighters in our squad. We know we are under a bit of pressure at this stage but we've got to find a way to bounce back. I know our attitude is right and we'll come out and fight tomorrow (Sunday). That is all we can do at this moment," he said.
Watling was all praise for Ashwin's sharp turner that bamboozled the well set Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson for 75.
"That was probably the best ball of the day. It was a very good ball that spun from so wide. This kind of delivery is too tough to play. Overall also, Ashwin kept asking questions like that throughout the first innings. If we've to come back in the match, we need to find a way to deal with this kind of deliveries."
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