India have taken the early ascendancy in the opening Test match against New Zealand in Kanpur, ending the first day at 4/258.
With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami taking a well-earned break, stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane took the reins and chose to bat first on a friendly wicket.
Blackcaps opener Kyle Jamieson had opener Mayank Agarwal caught behind early but India soon consolidated with young star Shubman Gill making a fifty.
Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara made the Kiwis battle for his wicket with a defensive 26 from 88 balls while Rahane couldn’t capitalise after Jamieson bowled him for 35.
With the first innings in the balance at 4/145, India found a crucial partnership between debutant Shreyas Iyer and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who both remain not out on 75 and 50 respectively when New Zealand went off for bad light at stumps.
The Blackcaps will be hoping to get more from their spin attack in Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville and Rachin Ravindra after the trio went wicketless on Day 1.
Day 2 begins at 5pm NZDT on Friday evening.