A patchy start to their second dig took the gloss off Auckland's hard-fought first innings points win over Otago at the halfway stage of their Plunket Shield cricket match today.
A fluctuating match at Auckland's Colin Maiden Park saw Otago walk off with a marginal advantage at stumps on day two after the hosts stuttered to 27 for two.
Earlier in the final session Auckland eked out first innings honours by just six runs after dismissing Otago for 292,
Resuming at 12 for three, Otago slumped further to 51 for five before Sam Wells, 74, Ian Butler, 51, Neil Wagner, 41, and Derek de Boorder, 40, carried the southerners to within sight of Auckland's 298.
However, their chase fell painfully short when Nick Beard was trapped lbw by spinner Bhupinder Singh for 22.
Andre Adams did most of the damage with the ball for Auckland, taking five for 94 from 24 overs while veteran new ball pair Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills claimed two scalps each.
Wagner, who took four wickets in Auckland's first innings, continued an influential game when he removed openers Jeet Raval and Brad Cachopa cheaply in the closing exchanges to give his team momentum heading into what shapes as a pivotal third day.
