Openers Aaron Redmond (105) and Martin Guptil (80) combined for a 190-run stand to guide New Zealand A to a commanding 270 for 3 against India A on the opening day of the second and final four-day cricket match in Chennai on Friday.
The visitors, who elected to bat, crossed the 250-mark for the first time since the first match, which they lost by 129 runs.
After the Indian bowlers toiled under hot and humid conditions without any success for most part of the day, leg-spinner Amit Mishra (2/62) struck a double blow, dismissing Guptil and captain Peter Fulton (5) in successive overs after tea.
Guptil was caught at deep mid-wicket by C Pujara while trying to go over the ropes after coming down the track, while Fulton was caught behind.
Left-arm medium pacer R P Singh was off-colour but tasted success in his third spell, sending back Redmond in the 73rd over.
At close of play, Greg Hay (44) and James Marshall (21) were at the crease, having added 41 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket.
Hay, who hit six boundaries in the third man region, was lucky as Raina floored an easy catch in the lone first slip when he was on 33 and the team's total 240-3, in the 80th over, off left-arm bowler Ravi Jadeja.
India went into the match, making four changes. They included Sourav Ganguly, Cheteshwar Pujara, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Singh and Pradeep Sangwan, dropping opener Shikar Dhawan, middle-order batsmen Jaydev Shah and Yusuf Pathan and off-spinner Mohnish Parmar.
New Zealand, on the other hand, brought in Guptil, Bradely Scott and left-arm bowler Lain O'brien in place of Neil Broom, Brent Arnel and Michale Mason.
Ganguly and Singh, who are part of the Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia, are playing in the match for some practice.
Ganguly, who was off the field for nearly two hours in the post-lunch session, had a quiet day without much action, fielding in the slips and the deep in the last hour.
Scorecard
New Zealand (1st innings):
Aaron Redmond b Singh 105
Martin Guptil c Pujara b Mishra 80
Peter Fulton c Saha b Mishra 5
Greg Hay batting 44
James Marshall batting 21
Extras: (B-3, LB-7, NB-4, W-1) 15
Total: (for three wkts in 90 overs) 270
Fall of wickets: 1-190, 2-195, 3-229.
Bowling: R P Singh 17-3-57-1; Ashok Dinda 16-3-39-0; Pradeep Sangwan 12-2-48-0; Amit Mishra 23-8-62-2; Jadeja 16-6-40-0; Suresh Raina 6-1-14-0.
