Bhuvneshwar Kumar rattles New Zealand in first innings

An impeccable line and length and a stoke of luck helped Bhuvneshwar Kumar rattle New Zealand's batting ranks, as he claimed a five-for and restricted the opposition to 128 for 7 at stumps on day two of the second Test being played in Kolkata on Saturday.

New Zealand's fast bowlers troubled India's batsmen and restricted the hosts to a first-innings total of 316. But their batsmen - without Kane Williamson out due to injury - faced an uphill task against the new ball on a greenish pitch and confident spinners that wrecked havoc in the first Test.

Tom Latham, New Zealand's opener, had found runs at Kanpur; but he failed to find his feet in Kolkata and fell to Mohammed Shami in the second over of the match.

Martin Guptill, with scores of 7, 8, 21 and 0 in his last five Test innings, had hoped for a change in fortune, but the right hander became Kumar's first victim, as he attempted to leave a rising delivery that struck his elbow and rattled the stumps.

Henry Nicholls, a replacement for Williamson, failed to fill the vacuum left by his absence. He managed just one as he edged a back-of-a-length delivery, from Kumar, back on to the stumps.

New Zealand, after seven overs, was reeling at 23 for 3; and despite a 62-run stand for the fourth wicket between Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi, they failed to recover.

Jadeja broke the stand, after rain delayed play, and dismissed Ronchi for a 52-ball 35; Kumar tore into New Zealand thereafter and made the most of moisture on offer due to rain.

Taylor was his third victim and nicked him to first slip, Mitchell Santner - who impressed with the bat in the first Test - then missed a ball that kept low and trapped him lbw for 11. Kumar then completed his five-for by rattling the stumps of Matt Henry two overs before stumps on day two. New Zealand ended the day on 127 for 7, still 188 runs adrift from India's total.

"In India you rarely get this kind of wicket, so I wanted to make full use of it," Kumar said. "It was one of my dreams to take five wickets in India. When I saw that the wicket would help me, I told myself I want to take five wickets. I really wanted to make use of the opportunity and I'm very happy with how I bowled."