Wellington Test PHOTOS: Ishant, Dhawan put India in control

New Zealand were shot out for 192 in their first innings against India on the opening day of the second and final Test, in Wellington, on Friday.

Ishant Sharma took six wickets and Mohammad Shami four to hand India the early advantage at the Basin Reserve.

India were 100 for 2 in their first innings in reply, still trailing by 92 runs, with Shikhar Dhawan (71) and night-watchman Ishant (3) at the crease.

- Scorecard

- Match report

Earlier, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won his seventh straight toss on the tour and, as expected, elected to field. The visitors named an unchanged team for the match, while Tom Latham and Jimmy Neesham made their debut for New Zealand in place of Ross Taylor and Ish Sodhi respectively.

Teams: 

India: M S Dhoni (captain), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Chesteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. 

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (captain), Peter Fulton, Hamish Rutherford, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Corey Anderson, BJ Watling, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Trent Boult. 

Ishant Sharma picked three wickets in his morning spell as India reduced New Zealand to 51-4 by lunch.

Using the green pitch and seaming conditions at the Basin Reserve to the maximum, Ishant followed up his nine-wicket haul of the first Test at Auckland and took three for 14 in an unbroken spell of nine overs to wreak havoc on the Black Caps' top-order.

Peter Fulton (13) and Hamish Rutherford (12) negotiated the first hour before Dhoni effected the first bowling change in the eight over. 

Ishant, in his second over, dismissed Rutherford, who was unable to keep down a well-aimed short ball and was caught by Murali Vijay at first slip.

Two overs later, the lanky pacer bowled an in-swinger that hit Fulton on his pads and trapped the batsman LBW.

In his next over, the bowler made debutant Tom Latham's day a bad one, dismissing him for a duck in his first Test innings.

Mohammad Shami the dismissed Auckland's double-centurion Brendon McCullum (8). The New Zealand captain  played a loose shot and was caught by Ravindra Jadeja at short mid-off.

Kane Williamson (47) and Corey Anderson (24) added 39 valuable runs for the fifth wicket in the post-lunch session.

Anderson was snapped up by Ishant, who also accounted for B J Watling (0).

Williamson put on 47 runs with debutant James Neesham for the seventh wicket.

Shami got the vital breakthrough, with Rohit catching Williamson at second slip. The batsman scored 47 runs, inclusive of six boundaries.

Neesham scored 33 runs (35 balls, seven fours) on debut to help New Zealand cross the 150-run mark. But Shami snapped him up as well, the batsman edging behind to MS Dhoni.

However, the day belonged to Ishant. 

Playing his 55th Test, he grabbed his fifth five-wicket haul to have New Zealand reeling. He finished the day with figures of 6 for 51.

Shami took four for 70.

Some late hitting by Tim Southee (32) gave New Zealand's total a semblance of respectability.

Southee returned to strike with the ball. 

The 25-year-old, who took six wickets in the opening Test in Auckland, struck with his sixth delivery, having Murali Vijay (2) caught behind. 

However, Shikhar Dhawan, high on confidence after a hundred in the second innings at Eden Park, and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India recover from the early loss with an 87-run partnership for the second wicket.

Dhawan then hit an attacking unbeaten 71 to help India build on their advantage. 

The 28-year-old hit 10 fours and a six in his 87-ball knock. 

It was Dhawan's first Test fifty. He has two hundreds to his credit, the second coming at Auckland last week. 

His aggressive batting ensured India retained the advantage throughout the day.