HYDERABAD, Aug 24 (IANS): Riding on a fine 159 by Cheteshwar Pujara, India ended their first innings at 438 shortly before the tea session against New Zealand on the second day of the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, here Friday.
Resuming the day at 307 for five, India added 131 runs in the first two sessions of the day before their innings folded up.
The hosts started the day under overcast conditions and both the batsmen helped India build the innings and push ahead in the first session against the Kiwis.
Overnight batsmen Pujara and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (73) played it safely in the first session when India extended their lead by 64 runs without loss to get to 371 for five at lunch.
Pujara and Dhoni denied New Zealand any success. The pair kept the scoreboard ticking with some big shots, though regularly operating in a lower gear.
The Kiwi bowlers tried probing the Indians, however proving unsuccessful.
Pujara continued with his good form from Thursday, and the only chance New Zealand had to dislodge him, came when he was slow to respond to Dhoni's call for a single. Brendon McCullum at short cover faltered, and Pujara, batting at 133, managed to scamper back to the crease.
Pujara crossed the 150-run mark as he reached 151 before lunch. But the young batsman was dismissed shortly after the resumption of play as he tried to hit out Jeetan Patel and James Franklin took an easy catch at mid-on.
Dhoni, who added 127 runs with Pujara, also departed soon, leaving the tail to fight on. Ravichandran Ashwin struck a quickfire 37 off 54 balls but didn't get much support from the other end.
The start of the match was delayed by 25 minutes as the ground staff was asked to pull on the covers in anticipation of a rain shower which never came.
