tea New Zealand 82 for 1 (Conway 61*, Young 5*) lead India 46 (Pant 20, Henry 5-15, O'Rourke 4-22) by 36 runs

This was the fourth lowest first innings score in Test history after a side elected to bat. By the end, New Zealand had already taken the lead with nine wickets in hand.

It was clear in the first two overs that the ball was moving more than either side expected. New Zealand started with just two slips but strengthened in the conditions. India now reacted instinctively and not through mental preparation before the series, as they showed in difficult conditions in England in 2021.

And the instinct was to counterattack. Jaiswal played the first loose drive until the 12th ball, which he faced despite being challenged by Tim Southee. Rohit Sharma survived an extremely close lbw shout from Henry on the umpire's orders, but soon tried to tackle Southee and throw him over his head again. The ball with the wobbly seam slipped back and caught the upper part of the leg.

With Shubman Gill missing due to a stiff neck, Virat Kohli moved up to No. 3 for the first time since 2016. While it was brave of Kohli to step up, the batsman perhaps best suited to the difficult conditions is current No. 6 KL Rahul, the only Asian opener with centuries in Australia, England and South Africa.

Another surprise in the batting order followed as Sarfaraz Khan ended up at number 4, at least one place higher than the one he occupies in domestic cricket. It took him just three balls to attempt an upward air blast, which he fired at mid-ball for a sensational catch from Devon Conway, diving to his right and intercepting it well behind his body. A fair reward for Henry, who recorded an average seam movement of 1.3 degrees in the first session.

Rain provided a quick stop at 13 for 3 in 12.4 overs without a single boundary. At that point, India only had control of 62% of the shipments. The bowling was merciless: about half of them were on the right length, only a few went further without becoming half-volleys.

In theory, a break should be good news for the bowling team, as their bowlers can be prepared for further action, but here some of the incredible luck they had enjoyed was drained away. Tom Blundell dropped a sitter from Rishabh Pant and then the batters either bowled or missed or the edges flew past the fielder. The bowling has also lost some of its relentlessness. But for that brief period, India's 36-man all-out was in jeopardy.

Finally, the fourth wicket came not through Test deliveries but through a medium-cut shot from Jaiswal, who scored 13 off 63, of which he was only in control of 42. Luck had turned and a flurry of wickets followed lunch on both sides. Rahul beat O'Rourke down the leg side six minutes before lunch and Ravindra Jadeja followed with a flamboyant shot that took the lead on the last ball of the session.

Immediately after lunch, Henry snorted and hit R. Ashwin's bat on the shoulder from a long distance. Pant survived the hat-trick ball, but two balls later he caught Henry at second slip. Again, Henry had good length and managed to draw seam movement.

However, Henry wasn't finished yet. He sprinted at full speed to his left from good leg to give Will O'Rourke his fourth wicket. Jasprit Bumrah was in no mood to hang around after someone kicked and hit him. Henry had substitute Michael Bracewell to thank for completing his five when Michael Bracewell dived to the left in the gully to take Kuldeep's wicket.

It was the perfect storm for India. The sun was shining when they came to bowl and they only had two quicks to work with. The movement was less pronounced and New Zealand had the freedom to take risks. Every now and then Bumrah went full, but less movement than in the morning meant he was driven away by Conway. Spin came in the eighth over and Conway immediately attacked Ashwin, knocking him to the ground and using both types of swing.

In his second move, Mohammed Siraj edged out Tom Latham, but Rahul lost the ball completely at second slip. The resulting border resulted in New Zealand overtaking India. Ten minutes before tea, Kuldeep Latham brought out down the left but Conway and Tom Young looked relaxed at the break.