Indian speedsters made perfect use of the overcast conditions, working up good pace and bounce, as New Zealand were reduced to 54 for three at lunch on the opening day of the first cricket Test, here today.
Bad light and a drizzle delayed the start of the game by 15 minutes and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni called the toss correctly for the sixth time in a row on this tour, opting to bowl first on a green Eden Park pitch with good amount of moisture under the surface.
Ishant Sharma justified his inclusion into the side after a disastrous ODI series, picking up key wickets of Hamish Rutherford (6) and Ross Taylor (1) in quick succession to give the hosts an upper hand on a windy and cloudy morning.
Ishant conceded just eight runs in his opening spell as the Black Caps' top-order was left in complete disarray.
Zaheer Khan too showed his experience at this format of the game, trapping other opener Peter Fulton (13) plumb in front of the wicket.
Mohammad Shami (0-10), who opened the bowling for the visitors, came up with an excellent spell without getting any reward, as the New Zealand batsmen did not get any breathing space.
Kane Williamson (22 batting) and skipper Brendon McCullum (5 batting) were unbeaten at the break, with Ravindra Jadeja (0-4) bowling just the one over.
India went with the same playing XI that featured in their last Test in South Africa, including left-arm spinner Jadeja ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant still the preferred choice ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Similarly, the hosts did not make any changes either to their eleven that played West Indies in Hamilton.
Having conceded the ODI series 0-4, Team India looked determined to retain their No.2 ranking in this format of the game as they began their campaign in the two-match Test series on a perfect note.
Shami and Zaheer bowled at lively pace and beat the openers on more than a couple of occasions. In fact, Fulton was very lucky to survive as long as he did, continuously troubled by all Indian bowlers.
