India had New Zealand on the ropes at 23 for 3 before the Kiwis staged a brilliant recovery through centuries from Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder that laid the foundation for a huge first innings total in the second Test in Napier on Thursday.
Playing without skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who sat out with a back injury, India had three top order Kiwi batsmen back in the pavilion inside 11 overs before a 271-run stand between Taylor (151) and Ryder (137 not out) rallied the hosts to a healthy 351 for 4 by stumps.
Ryder and James Franklin (26) will return on Friday to swell New Zealand's tally and justify Daniel Vettori's decision to bat first.
Taylor and Ryder, who enjoyed their share of luck, scored at a brisk rate to frustrate stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag, who had no clue how to stop the blooming partnership.
While the Kiwi pair batted with aplomb, poor fielding -- including three dropped catches and a missed run-out chance -- compounded India's misery as they struggled to stem the flow of boundaries.
Taylor, dropped by Yuvraj Singh when on four, was lucky to be reprieved again in the nineties when Rahul Dravid grassed one in the lone slip. Yuvraj also dropped Franklin off Zaheer Khan in the slips after the new ball was taken.
Taylor and Ryder's 271-run stand was New Zealand's best for all wickets against India, and for the fourth-wicket against all teams.
Vettori wanted his batsmen to spend long hours at the crease and play out 100 overs in an innings. Taylor and Ryder did just that. They consumed 255 minutes and 361 balls while running the Indians' patience thin.
There were moments when the Indian bowling seemed listless and ached for another specialist bowler, while the fielding was shoddy.
Sehwag turned his arm over in desperation for a breakthrough but made no impression on the batsmen, while Yuvraj, given an over, was mercilessly hit out of the attack.
Taylor, woefully short of runs right through the series, was the more dominant partner, throwing his willow at everything that was hurled at him. He did have his share of chances, which eluded the slip cordon, but hung on grimly to produce his third Test hundred in his 27th innings. His 151 was studded with 26 fours and a six off Harbhajan Singh.
On the other hand, Ryder, who scored a resilient but classy 102 in the first Test at Seddon Park, batted with the authority and finesse of a seasoned professional. Except for a nick off Harbhajan that gushed past wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, the 24-year-old's innings was flawless.
Earlier in the morning the Kiwis found themselves in deep trouble by the tenth over.
Tim McIntosh, who played and missed several times to Ishant Sharma was dismissed controversially when umpire Billy Doctrove gave him out caught behind by Karthik off Sharma for 12, although television replays showed he had not touched the ball.
Jamie How, who replaced the injured Daniel Flynn, was then bowled by an inswinging full-pitched delivery from Zaheer for one on the last ball of the ninth over.
Zaheer then gave himself the opportunity of a hat-trick after the first ball of the 11th over when a superb bouncer smashed into Martin Guptill's gloves and a diving Virender Sehwag, who is leading the side, held the catch in the gully to dismiss the tall opener for eight.
Ryder successfully fended off the hat-trick delivery with a defensive prod.
India were on the receiving end thereafter as Taylor and Ryder amassed the runs in a record partnership. Their only other success came in the form of Taylor's wicket, caught by Yuvraj in the shadows of the main stand after a top-edge off Harbhajan Singh.
