Tim Southee struck out both India openers late on Tuesday, giving New Zealand hope of an unexpected triumph in the World Test Championship final as the contest entered its scheduled sixth day.

At stumps on Tuesday's fifth day in Southampton, India were 64-2 in their second innings, a 32-run advantage.

Southee got Shubman Gill lbw for eight after he played across the line, then Rohit Sharma was leg-before for 30 as he played no stroke to a cut-back ball.

Southee had time late in the day to smash India skipper Virat Kohli flush here on helmet.

After veteran paceman Southee had talkeden 2-17 in nine overs, Kohli survived for being eight not out, with Cheteshwar Pujara undefeated on 12 off 55 balls.

The fact that a positive outcome was still conceivable after both Friday's first day and Monday's fourth day were wiped away without even a ball being played was a modest victory for the International Cricket Council after two years of qualifying matches to decide the finalists.

Previously, in response to India's first-innings 217, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson hit 49 out of a total of 249 runs. Williamson has been one of the best batters of his time, but owing to the dominance of India's quicks in a match where pacemen from both sides have dominated in favorable conditions, he scored only seven runs from 77 balls faced before lunch on Tuesday.

After another hour of rain delayed Tuesday's start, Mohammed Shami paved the way for India with 4-76 in 26 overs.

Midway through Tuesday's play, officials opted to deploy the reserve day, resulting in the first six-day Test since the 2005 Super Series between Australia and the Rest of the World, were the first in England since the fourth match of the 1975 Ashes at the Oval. New Zealand had restarted on a score of 101-2.

Williamson and Ross Taylor, their two greatest seasoned batters, contributed only 16 runs during the first 13 overs on Tuesday. Shami had Taylor caught at short extra-cover by Gill after a misplayed drive.  Ishant Sharma (3-48) was followed by left-hander Henry Nicholls, who was brilliantly caught by Rohit at second slip. So there was tremendous applause from the India fans in the raucous crowd when Shami clean bowled BJ Watling with a brilliant delivery that hit the top of the middle and off stumps, decreasing New Zealand's 134-4 to 135-5.

Kyle Jamieson, who claimed five wickets in India's innings, smashed Shami for a spectacular straight-six with the new ball, only to succumb to the rather next delivery, when a top-edged hook was brilliantly held at fine leg by Jasprit Bumrah.

Williamson, following New Zealand opener Devon Conway (54) in scoring a fifty in this match, had his 177-ball innings come to an end when he guided Ishant to second-slip Kohli with New Zealand 221-8. However, Southee and fellow tailender Trent Boult both struck sixes before the innings ended when Southee was bowled by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for 30.

The scoreboard of Tuesday:

India's first innings score 217 (K Jamieson 5-31)

1st Innings, New Zealand (overnight: 101-2)

· T Latham c Kohli b Ashwin    30

· D Conway c Shami b Ishant    54

· K Williamson c Kohli b Ishant    49

· R Taylor c Gill b Shami    11

· H Nicholls c Rohit b Ishant    7

· BJ Watling b Shami    1

· C de Grandhomme lbw b Shami    13

· K Jamieson c Bumrah b Shami    21

· T Southee b Jadeja    30

· N Wagner c Rahane b Ashwin    0

· T Boult not out    7

Extras (b4, lb16, nb6)    26

Total (all out, 99.2 overs, 475 mins)249

Falling wickets: 1-70 (Latham), 2-101 (Conway), 3-117 (Taylor), 4-134 (Nicholls), 5-135 (Watling), 6-162 (De Grandhomme), 7-192 (Jamieson), 8-221 (Williamson), 9-234 (Rahane), 10-249 (Southee)

Bowling: Ishant 25-9-48-3; Bumrah 26-9-57-0 (3nb); Shami 26-8-76-4; Ashwin 15-5-28-2 (1nb); Jadeja 7.2-2-20-1 (2nb)

India 2nd Innings

· R Sharma lbw b Southee    30

· S Gill lbw b Southee    8

· C Pujara not out    12

· V Kohli not out    8

Total (2 wkts, 30 overs, 140 mins)64

Bowling: Southee 9-3-17-2; Boult 8-1-20-0; Jamieson 10-4-15-0 (1nb, 1w); Wagner 3-0-8-0