Profligate Indians let Kiwis off the hook on opening day

McCullum, who slammed his third ton against India and his eighth Test century overall, reached the three-figure mark with a towering six off Ravindra Jadeja, while Williamson (113) hit his fifth Test ton with the help of 10 boundaries and a couple of sixes.

New Zealand’s cause was helped by four dropped catches and inconsistent bowling under pressure by the visitors as the duo of Williamson and McCullum put on a 221-run stand for the fourth wicket to lift the hosts from a precarious 30 for
three.

After being sent into bat under overcast conditions conducive to seam bowling, New Zealand could manage only 54 runs in the pre-lunch session losing both their openers, Peter Fulton (13) and Hamish Rutherford (6), and in-form batsman Ross Taylor (3).

But Williamson and McCullum swung the first day in New Zealand’s favour by adding 125 runs in 27 overs in the post-lunch session.

The sensational fightback has put the Kiwis on top in the first Test after their resounding 4-0 win over the visitors in the just-concluded one-day series.

The Indian bowlers attacked in a bid to take wickets, but gave away runs easily considering the short boundaries. Ishant Sharma (2-62) was the pick of the bowlers, reaching his 150-wicket mark in 54 Tests.

Zaheer Khan (2-98) pitched in with two wickets, while Mohammad Shami (0-66) was unlucky to finish empty-handed despite bowling good spells throughout. Jadeja (0-81) proved ineffective on the hard and bouncy pitch, while Rohit Sharma
(0-12) and Virat Kohli (0-4) turned their arms over as well.