Tea India 345 and 167 for 7 (Iyer 65, Saha 22*, Jamieson 3-26, Southee 3-48) lead New Zealand 296 by 216 runs
Debutant Shreyas Iyer's second 50-plus score of the match handed India the advantage on the fourth afternoon of the first Test but his dismissal in the last over before tea gave New Zealand a measure of hope.
After Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel and Kyle Jamieson had reduced India to 51 for 5 in the morning session, Iyer added 52 for the sixth wicket with R Ashwin to ease the hosts' nerves. Then, with Wriddhiman Saha, who was off the field with a stiff neck on day three, he stitched 64 for the seventh wicket to extend India's lead to 216 by the end of the second session.
Given India were placed precariously at lunch, it was surprising to see Kane Williamson resuming with the batting allrounder Rachin Ravindra after the interval. To his credit, Ravindra was tidy, but didn't pose much of a threat. From the other end, Southee's short-ball ploy against R Ashwin didn't quite come off.
Jamieson eventually broke the stand with Ashwin chopping one onto his stumps, but by then India's lead had crossed 150.
Meanwhile, Iyer showed great maturity, playing the ball late on a slow pitch and picking up the majority of his runs in the third man region. He brought up his half-century off 109 balls, which also included a straight six off Ajaz Patel. He looked to bat more freely after reaching the milestone but was caught down the leg side for 65 off Southee.
Saha struck around with Iyer and even hit William Somerville for a four and a six off successive deliveries, the first of those shots bursting through Henry Nicholls' fingers at midwicket. He was unbeaten on 22 at tea.
With India starting the day on 14 for 1, Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal were offered some freebies on the pads as Jamieson and Southee bowled straight with a catching short midwicket in place. While Agarwal struggled, Pujara made good use of the opportunities and moved to 22 off 32 balls.
However, Jameison then banged one short, and even though the ball was angling down the leg side, Pujara ended up fending at it and gloved it to the wicketkeeper. The on-field umpire ruled it not out but New Zealand got the decision overturned on review.
Ajinkya Rahane had scored a valuable 35 in the first innings but on Sunday he didn't look comfortable at the crease. He opened his account off his 14th ball with a four off Ajaz but fell off the next ball, playing for turn and getting struck on the pad by one that went on with the arm from the left-arm spinner.
Coming back for his second spell of the day, Southee drew the outside edge of Iyer's bat straightaway, but the ball went for four through the gap between the wicketkeeper and a wide first slip. That prompted New Zealand to have a more conventional slip cordon, and soon there was another opportunity. In Southee's next over, Agarwal edged an outswinger to second slip, where Tom Latham took a tumbling catch to his left.
Two balls later, Southee jolted India further by dismissing Ravindra Jadeja lbw from around the wicket. With half the side back in the pavilion and it not being clear then if Saha would bat, India's lead of 100 looked paltry.
Iyer and Ashwin, though, eased some of the pressure by hitting four fours in the next three overs, and played out the rest of the morning session without further damage.
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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