The Indian batters lost the plot in a matter of 20 minutes, leaving the side at a nervous 86/4 after Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar gave the hosts the early bragging rights by dismissing New Zealand for 235 on an eventful day one of the third and last. Test in Mumbai on Friday. Jadeja (5/65) and Sundar (4/81) did their job to perfection but India's batting remained a weak link as the side lost three wickets in the space of eight balls, starting with the inexplicable reverse battle of Yashasvi Jaiswal (30). wipe. With his 14th five-for in Tests, Jadeja also moved ahead of former pace bowling teammates Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma to climb to fifth spot in the list of highest wicket-takers for India in the format.
With 314 wickets so far, Jadeja is now behind Harbhajan Singh (417 wickets) in the all-time list.
India, who lost by eight wickets in Bengaluru and by 113 runs in Pune, are in a desperate position to stay alive in the race to the World Test Championship final but the match appears to be slipping away.
If Virat Kohli (4) missed an innocent full toss to be cleared in the first innings in Pune, it was an aberration, the batting maestro ran himself out in the closing stages of the first day's play, leaving India staring at a mountain to climb.
India's rapid fall showed their rapidly eroding confidence in the bat as Rohit Sharma (18) was also among those who fell without making a significant dent.
In between losing the team's batting mainstays, Jaiswal and Shubman Gill (31 not out) forged a 53-run stand for the second wicket before the closing stages collapsed.
Rohit, playing only his second Test at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium, dazzled with some attractive strokes to get off the blocks quickly but failed to make the most of the reprieve.
William O'Rourke dropped a difficult chance at fine leg to Henry when Rohit pulled one to his left, while the fielder also traveled a fair distance to get to the ball in the fifth over.
In the seventh, Rohit played clumsily with the back of a long ball, trying to work it on the leg side. The Indian skipper may have been surprised by the bounce as he closed the face, but the ball flew to his counterpart Tom Latham. in the second slip.
Rohit's fall saw Gill join Jaiswal and the two tried to rebuild before the latter was sacked.
Earlier, the spinners had the upper hand as Jadeja (5/65) and Washington (4/81) shared nine wickets to keep New Zealand at 235 after the visitors opted to bat.
Washington shone with a crucial two-wicket burst, claiming key wickets of New Zealand captain Tom Latham (28) and the in-form Rachin Ravindra (5).
Even though Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (82) played excellent shots, on a spin-friendly track the humidity and heat tested the Kiwis' resolve as they went all out to counter India's spin threat offer.
Young and Mitchell put New Zealand on track for a big score in the first innings, but Jadeja played a decisive role in pinning them back and handing the advantage to India with his command of the pitch and conditions, with he took five wickets along the way.
R Ashwin, deployed first among the Indian spinners, remained wicketless despite his variations but his bowling partners exploited the pitch perfectly, especially left-arm Jadeja who bowled relatively faster and attacked the wickets.
New Zealand, who crumbled from 159 for three to 235 all out, mainly against Jadeja, deserved credit for braving the conditions in which their highest scorer in the innings, Mitchell, really struggled in the middle.
The burly all-rounder regularly drank fluids and kept squatting and even lying flat on his back as he made a fighting 82 from 129 balls, peppered with three fours and as many sixes.
Mitchell felt the heat more than anyone, also because he played a lot of singles and doubles, until he brought up his first fifty of the tour. Each of these three sixes came near the end.
Like Mitchell, Young too looked set for a century but Jadeja's brilliance ended his knockout.
Jadeja made one turn against Young's front foot defence, with Jadeja kissing the ball's shoulder and Rohit doing the rest at first slip, ending a fine knock in which Young scored 71 from 138 balls with four fours and two sixes.
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