India stand on the verge of losing their invincible 12-year-old record at home. The Men in Blue have not been beaten in a home Test series since losing 2-1 to England in 2012. But the Kiwis are turning it around and are the favourites to win the second Test of the three-match series to clinch the series.
India would need some magic to pull off a win out of here. They were bowled out for just 156 in the first innings after New Zealand scored 259 in their first essay. The Kiwis had a 100-plus lead when they came out to bat again and then piled up more runs in the second innings.
The visitors went back to stumps on Day 2 at 198/5 with a lead of 301 and are in the driver's seat to clinch the game. With conditions not getting any better as the game progresses, Rohit Sharma's men would have a mountain to climb if they have to win this game.
As the fans would be hoping for, here is a list of the highest totals chased by India in Test matches at home.
The highest target chased by India in a home Test is 387 which they hunted down in 2008 in Chennai against England. Since then, they have never chased a total in excess of 300 with 276 being the second-highest.
Highest targets chased by India in a home Test:
1 - 387 vs England in the Chennai Test in 2008
2 - 276 vs West Indies in the Delhi Test in 2011
3 - 261 vs New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test in 2012
4 - 254 vs Australia in the Brabourne Test in 1964
5 - 216 vs Australia in the Mohali Test in 2010
India have been outsmarted in their own game. The batters have not batted as well as one would expect in Indian conditions and barring Washington Sundar, the spinners have lacked teeth. The star spin pair of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja has not been at its best with Ashwin having only four wickets till now and Jadeja being wicketless.
The hosts would aim to bowl the opposition out in quick time to stand a chance of chasing a score and levelling a series, but the current situation makes the task very bleak.
