Mumbai:India survived early morning twin blows from in-from spinner Ajaz Patel before the gutsy Mayank Agarwal joined hands with the ever-improving Axar Patel to take the hosts to 285 for six at lunch on day two of the second Test against New Zealand.
Agarwal (146 batting, 306 balls) and Axar (32 batting, 98 balls) added 61 runs for their unbroken seventh-wicket stand on a track that's showing considerable signs of wear and tear after Patel (42-11-103-6) removed overnight batter Wriddhiman Saha (27 off 61 balls) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0) off successive deliveries.
India during the session didn't score at a very quick rate as they put on only 64 runs in the 28 overs but Agarwal-Axar duo's consolidation act certainly put the hosts in a position of command.
Read: Germany dash defending champions India's hopes in Jr Hockey WC
Save Patel, who used the turn and bounce to good effect, keeping the batters quiet for the better part of the session, the other New Zealand bowlers didn't look very penetrative despite being economical.
In the morning, Saha got a perfect arm ball from Patel, which he tried to play on the back-foot and did well by not going for a review which would have been a complete waste.