- Scorecard: India vs NZ, 1st Test
Fighting centuries from Daniel Vettori and Jesse Ryder helped New Zealand rally from a precarious 60 for 6 to a healthy 279 all out on Day 1 of the first Test against India at Hamilton on Wednesday.
In reply, India were 29 without loss at close, with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir unbeaten on 22 and 6 respectively.
Put into bat, the Kiwis suffered a dramatic top-order collapse in the first session before Vettori (118) and Ryder (102) steadied the ship with a defiant 186-run stand.
Skipper Vettori led from front, notching his third Test century, while Ryder curbed his natural stroke-play to post a maiden Test hundred on an eventful day Seddon Park.
Their seventh-wicket innings-rejuvenating partnership bettered the 163 that Bert Sutcliffe and Bruce Taylor had knit against India at Calcutta in 1964-65.
The Indians will be a trifle disappointed to have allowed the Kiwis to wriggle out of a tight situation after Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma caused early damage.
The chips were woefully down for the Kiwis as the Indians threatened to clean up the bottom half of their batting. But the gallant Vettori threw caution to the wind and counter-attacked with some blazing strokes.
Ryder prudently played second fiddle while his ebullient captain donned the role of aggressor. Together they took the fight into the enemy camp and there was precious little Mahendra Singh Dhoni could do as the pair flourished in the second session.
Vettori's innings was studded with 14 boundaries and two sixes, while Ryder helped himself to 14 fours.
It was Zaheer Khan who began the Kiwi collapse. First he had debutant Martin Guptill snapped up at third slip by Rahul Dravid. With that catch, the former India captain drew abreast of Mark Waugh's record of 181 catches.
A little later, he sent Daniel Flynn to the hut, when Dhoni gobbled up the edge down the leg.
The 30-year-old should have collected his 200th Test wicket in the same over, but Sehwag spilled Ross Taylor at gully.
Taylor though did not survive long, as Ishant Sharma, returning for his second spell, castled the Maori celebrity.
The tall and sinewy Delhi pacer went on to pick the scalps of Tim McIntosh and James Fraklin as well and leave the Kiwi innings in tatters.
Munaf Patel, preferred ahead of Laxmipathy Balaji for his ability to move the ball, ejected Brendon McCullum from the square with a ball that left late off the seam en route to VVS Laxman at second slip.
Opener Guptill was a picture of confidence on debut, driving and pulling Sharma with great poise, but a beauty from Khan enticed the tall opener to nick the ball to Dravid, at third slip, who gobbled up the Kookaburra cherry on second attempt.
Flynn barely lasted three balls. He ticked an inspired Khan delivery to Dhoni, who did well to latch on to the ball down the leg side.
New Zealand were gasping at this stage, a situation they never recovered from in the first session.
Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors with his four-wicket haul while Khan (2/70) and Patel (3/60) shared five wickets between them.
It was rather baffling that the Kiwis were done in by their own weapon: swing and seam. Though having played on green tops, they just weren't technically equipped to play the moving ball.
