India vs New Zealand | Kohli's ton puts India in cruise control on Day 1

Brief Scores: India 267/3 in 90 overs (Kohli 103*, Rahane 79*; Boult 1/66, Patel 1/65)

Gambhir fails to capitalize on a promising start

All eyes were on Gautam Gambhir who made his first appearance for India after a gap of over two years. With Murali Vijay by his side, Gambhir got India off to a quick start. The Southpaw started the flow of boundaries with a cracking square-cut off Matt Henry in the 2nd over. Vijay followed that up by hitting two boundaries in the first three deliveries of the next over. Gambhir bettered that by hitting Patel for two consecutive sixes in the next. There was a definite IPL tinge to the way the openers started the game as India were scoring at over 6 runs per over in the opening session of the first day of a Test match!

However, the home side received its first big blow when Tom Latham took a blinder of a catch at short leg to dismiss Vijay off a Jeetan Patel ball, in the latter’s first over. The wicket did not slow down Gambhir, though. He kept finding the boundaries and with Pujara accompanying him, it looked like the start of a big partnership for India. But it was not to be a dream comeback for the KKR skipper as he was trapped in front of the stumps by Trent Boult by a ball that was pitched on a good length just outside the off stump and moved back in towards the left-hander with the angle from over the wicket. A promising innings of 29 runs came to an end for Gambhir, who will hope to make amends in the second innings.

Pujara’s wait for a big one continues

Cheteshwar Pujara has been in impressive form this series and is currently the top scorer by a distance. However, despite scoring three half-centuries, he has failed to land a three-digit score, which is surprising considering his impressive conversion rate in domestic cricket. Before the start of this 3rd Test, Pujara had said, “it's just a matter of time before I get there”. However, it seems like he will have to wait a bit longer.

The 28-year-old once again looked solid during his stay on the crease. He scored 41 and took India to 100/2 before Mitchell Santner cleaned him up with an absolute ripper of a delivery that was fast, angled in and moved viciously dismantling Pujara’s stumps. However, we too can sense that a big one is just around the corner.

Kohli-Rahane shine

After suffering from false starts throughout the Test series, Virat Kohli finally found his way back among runs after Pujara's departure. The Indian captain built a brilliant partnership with Ajinkya Rahane as the Kiwi bowlers started to hit the deck hard in the final session. Jimmy Neesham tested Rahane with some dangerous short-pitch deliveries but Kohli, who looked comfortable from the get go dissected the Kiwi infield with some dazzling wrist work, reached the fifty-figure mark in seven innings with a beautiful cover drive.

Rahane, despite getting hit on the back and forearm with the Kiwi bouncers, reached his fifty in style dispatching Jeetan Patel for a huge six over mid-wicket shortly after India reached 200 runs. With his score reading 99 in the 85th over, Kohli's century looked in doubt as a throw from the short-cover fielder hit the stumps as he ran for a single. But replays showed the Delhi batsman made his ground safely as the stadium erupted to celebrate his 13th Test century. India looks set to post a huge total as Rahane remained unbeaten on 79 and Kohli at 103 as the score read 267/3 at the day's end.