Aaron Redmond hit an unbeaten half-century to put New Zealand in a promising position at the end of day four in the first Test against Bangladesh on Monday.
He was 62 not out, his maiden Test fifty, and despite a late run-out, the tourists reached 145 for 2 at the close in pursuit of a victory target of 317.
Earlier, Bangladesh were dismissed for 242 in their second innings after they had established a 74-run lead when New Zealand could only manage 171 in reply to the home side's 245.
Redmond and nightwatchman captain Daniel Vettori (0) were unbeaten at stumps, after Jesse Ryder (38) was run out when Mashrafe Mortaza threw a direct hit from the third-man boundary.
The Kiwis lost Jamie How for 36 when the opener was bowled by left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, before Redmond and Ryder saw the tourists safely through to the tea break.
"I think we were a bit more patient today and we took the better options for the shots, hitting the right areas and giving the full face of the bat," Redmond told reporters.
"The game is evenly poised. The first session is going to be crucial. The wicket is not that bad and it hasn't deteriorated as much as we thought it would."
Razzak said he was hopeful Bangladesh had the opportunity to win the match.
"We are still in the game. We have a very good chance to win it, not just good, I should say a big chance.
"New Zealand are still trailing us by 171 runs. We have bundled them out with the same score in the first innings. At that time we had to take 10 wickets, but now we just need eight wickets," Razzak added.
Bangladesh had resumed on 184-8 before pace bowler Iain O'Brien got the day's first breakthrough when Razzak (18) was caught by Ross Taylor at slip.
Razzak and Mortaza had shared a 40-run ninth-wicket partnership to frustrate New Zealand as the final two wickets added 62 valuable runs.
Mortaza went on to score 44 before he was stumped by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum off part-time bowler Redmond to close the innings.
Scorecard
Bangladesh (1st innings): 245 all out
New Zealand (1st innings): 171 all out
Bangladesh (2nd innings): (overnight 184-8)
Tamim Iqbal c and b Vettori 33
Junaid Siddique c Redmond b Mills 6
Rajin Saleh lbw b Patel 6
Mohammad Ashraful c Redmond b Vettori 0
Mehrab Hossain c Mills b Patel 6
Mushfiqur Rahim b O'Brien 32
Shakib Al Hasan c Taylor b Vettori 71
Naeem Islam lbw b Vettori 19
Mashrafe Mortaza st McCullum b Redmond 44
Abdur Razzak c Taylor b O'Brien 18
Shahadat Hossain not out 0.
Extras: (b-4 lb-1 nb-2) 7
Total: (all out, 107.3 overs) 242
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-36, 3-3, 4-49, 5-71, 6-127, 7-175, 8-180, 9-220.
Bowling: Mills 18-2-55-1 (2nb), O'Brien 17-7-28-2, Vettori 42-13-74-4, Patel 20-7-53-2, Oram 8-2-19-0, Redmond 2.3-1-8-1
New Zealand (2nd innings):
J How b Abdur Razzak 36
A Redmond not out 62
J Ryder run out 38
D Vettori not out 0.
Extras: (b-5 lb-3 w-1) 9
Total: (for two wickets, 64 overs) 145
Fall of wickets: 1-55, 2-145
To bat: R. Taylor, B. McCullum, D. Flynn, J. Oram, K. Mills, I. O'Brien, J. Patel.
Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 6-2-16-0, Shahadat Hossain 9-1-32-0 (1w), Abdur Razzak 19-6-33-1, Shakib Al Hasan 22-9-34-0, Mehrab Hossain 2-0-6-0, Naeem Islam 5-1-7-0, Mohammad Ashraful 1-0-9-0.
