Pace spearhead Trent Boult snared three wickets as New Zealand maintained an upper hand over India who had Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari to thank for their resistance as the visitors ended the third day on 144/4, still 39 runs behind the hosts” lead, in the first Test at the Basin Reserve here on Sunday.
Looking to cut down a tall lead of 183 runs, India were on their haunches at 113/4 in the second innings, with star batters Cheteshwar Pujara (11) and Virat Kohli (19) back in the hut.
Opener Mayank Agarwal was the top-scorer with a gritty 58 (99b; 7×4, 1×6) but he also failed to carry on. For the Kiwis, Boult returned the best figures of 3/27 in 16 overs with Southee picking up one wicket.