New Zealand backed their strength to come good and packed their attack with three pacers while India, expecting the pitch to aid turn, included Kuldeep Yadav at the expense of an in-form pacer Akash Deep.
Both teams wanted to bat first, and in that sense, it was a good toss to lose for New Zealand. Having included three spinners, India's decision to bat first was a no-brainer but it backfired spectacularly with the visiting pacers running roughshod over hosts' venerated batting line-up. The cloud cover and the sweating on the pitch which largely remained under covers over the last three days due to rain, were godsend for the trio of Tim Southee (1/8), Matt Henry (5/15) and William O'Rourke (4/22) who expertly exploited the conditions, keeping the ball mostly at good length and forcing a pre-meditated Indian batters into mistakes.
India tried to maintain their much-professed aggressive approach but neither the conditions nor the accurate bowling allowed them to score as freely as they have been for some time now.
Bottled up for far too long to his own liking, Rohit Sharma charged Southee but the ball jagged back to bowl him through the gate. With Shubman Gill ruled out due to stiff neck, Virat Kohli walked in at No. 3, a position he batted at last in 2016. The right-hander barely looked comfortable, struggling throughout his short stay to ascertain the behaviour of the ball. He was finally done in a by an O'Rourke delivery that rose on him at good length, and with the batter already committed to front foot, had little chance of either leaving it or keeping it down, but to glove it to Glenn Phillips at leg slip.
Sarfaraz Khan, the replacement for Gill, lasted three balls falling to a poor shot. A drizzle at this juncture (13/3) gave temporary relief and a chancy stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, who was dropped on 7, post resumption raised hopes of a recovery. But Jaiswal's rasping cut off O'Rourke was beautifully snapped by Ajaz Patel at point that opened the floodgates. KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin fell in the space of eight balls and it wasn't long before New Zealand wrapped up the proceedings with Henry claiming a fifer and Kuldeep becoming his 100th Test scalp.
Having conjured up a one of their worst batting shows, Indians needed to make most of the chances that would come their way. The chances came but most of them went abegging. Pant missed two stumping chances (Will Young on 18 and Conway on 89), an unsighted Rahul couldn't hold on to Tom Latham's edge at second slip, Rohit dropped Young at lone slip while a few edges fell short, summing up a forgettable day for India on the park.