India's all-rounder Washington Sundar made a remarkable return to Test cricket, showcasing his bowling prowess during the second Test against New Zealand in Pune. After more than three-and-a-half years away from the format, Sundar's exceptional performance not only helped India but also secured his place in the record books.

Despite the strong presence of established bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Sundar captured the spotlight with his impressive figures. In the first innings, he took 7 wickets for 59 runs, significantly slowing down New Zealand's aggressive batting against the Indian spin attack.

In the second innings, Sundar continued to excel, claiming 4 wickets for 56 runs, bolstering India's chances of a comeback in the series. His overall match figures of 11 wickets for 115 runs rank as the fourth-best for India in Test history against New Zealand. The top record remains with Ashwin, who achieved 13 wickets for 140 runs in Indore in 2016.

Sundar's outstanding bowling was instrumental in restricting New Zealand to 255 runs, setting a challenging target of 359 runs for India with more than two days left in the match. Historically, India has faced difficulties chasing down such high totals, having succeeded only once in 26 previous attempts at chasing 300-plus runs since 2008, the last victory coming against England in Chennai.

As India began their chase, they faced an early setback with the loss of captain Rohit Sharma. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill rallied the team, maintaining a positive momentum. Jaiswal's aggressive boundaries, including a spectacular six, kept India's hopes alive for leveling the series. Meanwhile, Gill effectively utilized the sweep shot, consistently finding gaps in the field to score.

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