Kent spinners Aron Nijjar and Yuzvendra Chahal ripped through the Nottinghamshire middle order on the second day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division 1 match at Canterbury on Monday.

Steven Mullaney and Joe Clarke, who made 86 and 62 respectively, looked to have blunted the Kent attack with a century stand for the third wicket but Nijjar took career-best figures of 3-41 and India's Chahal claimed 3-52.

Nijjar, who also played in the Kent League Premier Division with Minster earlier in the summer, said: “There was a little bit of spin from wide to start with, so I think that got the wickets early on.

“Then, Yuzy [Chahal] bowled beautifully when he came back on. There seemed to be a little bit more spin from straight.

“So we both, luckily, were able to pick up some wickets and contribute.”

Nottinghamshire had started the day well, taking 6-59 to bowl Kent out for 446.

Lyndon James was one of four away bowlers to claim two wickets and he finished with the best figures of 2-30. Kent captain Jack Leaning made 64.

In a game which could be pivotal for their chances of staying up, Kent resumed 387-4 but Harry Finch fell for 47 in the third over of the morning, glancing Dane Paterson (2-82) behind.

Paterson struck again when Leaning clipped him to Mullaney and James removed Joey Evison for 16, caught behind trying to hook.

Nijjar was on 11 when he edged James and, although Tom Moores couldn't cling on to a one-handed grab, after a scrambled single, Nathan Gilchrist hit the next ball almost vertically and was caught by Brett Hutton.

Nijjar, on loan from Essex, went at the start of the next over, the 115th, when he tried to hook Hutton (2-79) and was caught on the boundary by Sam King and the innings was wrapped up two balls later when Chahal edged Hutton behind.

Kent had lost their last four wickets for four runs in the space of 17 balls but Nottinghamshire were soon rocked by the loss off Ben Slater for a third-ball duck when he edged Michael Hogan (2-31) to Leaning at second slip.

It was 17-1 at lunch, after which Hogan had Haseeb Hameed caught behind for nine. But, from 29-2, Nottinghamshire recovered with Mullaney and Clarke putting together a partnership worth 131.

Chahal generated some turn in his first spell but, aside from a difficult caught-and-bowled chance off Mullaney, the batsmen initially picked him with relative ease.

Mullaney hit Evison (0-30) for four to pass 50 while Clarke did likewise with a single from Gilchrist (0-60), but Nijjar finally broke through when he had Clarke caught by Leaning at mid-on with the final ball of the session to leave the visitors on 160-3.

That wicket sparked a dramatic shift in the momentum, Notts losing 4-14 and going nearly 10 overs without a boundary.

Mullaney tried to smash Nijjar out of the ground and was caught by Daniel Bell-Drummond at backward point, Nijjar then bowled Moores for an eight-ball duck with a ball that spun sharply and Chahal claimed his first Kent wicket with a sharp leg-break that bowled James’ off stump.

Matt Montgomery hit a full delivery from Chahal straight to Leaning at mid-off and Calvin Harrison tried to swipe Chahal, only to become a sprinting Leaning's fourth catch of the innings.