Ravichandran Ashwin's 20th five-wicket haul in his Test career helped India run through the New Zealand batting order on Monday, bowling them out for 299 after the hosts' massive 557/5 in the first innings. Skipper Virat Kohli refused to enforce the follow-on, and Indian openers Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara saw out the day's play, finishing at 18/0, with a lead of 276 at the end of day three of the third Test, in Indore.
The Kiwi openers – Tom Latham and Martin Guptill – hit a patient 118-run stand before wickets began to fall. New Zealand's lone fight in the middle order came through all-rounder Jimmy Neesham, who scored 71. Ashwin triggered New Zealand's collapse, finishing with 6/81, and also effected two run outs.
Ashwin became the fastest Indian to get to his 20th five-wicket haul, taking only 39 Tests to get here. The only dampener to India's day was perhaps veteran opener Gautam Gambhir suffering an injury. Pujara opened with Vijay to bat out the six remaining overs in the day's play after New Zealand were all out.
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