India have bowled themselves into a commanding position by dominating the second session of the second Test in Wellington.

Ishant Sharma caused the damage in the morning session, taking three of the four wickets to have fallen as New Zealand reached lunch on 51-4.

Corey Anderson (24) looked relaxed at the crease after the interval but he became the fifth home batsman to be dismissed when he offered a catch to Virat Kohli, which gifted Sharma his fourth wicket in the process.

Sharma continued to cause problems for the hosts and he completed his five-wicket haul by catching BJ Watling's (0) edge, with Rohit Sharma taking the catch in the slips.

Kane Williamson was forced to battle for his 47 runs and he was twice given an extra life after being caught off no-balls, but his luck ran out when Mohammed Shami struck the edge to give Rohit another catching opportunity in the slips.

James Neesham (33) was unable to stop the flow of wickets on his Test debut as he became Shami's third victim by edging one through to MS Dhoni.

The Black Caps reached the tea break on 166-8, with Tim Southee (19*) and Neil Wagner (0*) the two men unbeaten at the crease.