New Zealand Leading 235 and 171 for 9 (Young 51, Jadeja 4-52, Ashwin 3-63). India 263 (Gill 90, Pant 60, Ajaz 5-103) for 143 runs

It was the youth that India were hoping for at the start of the day after losing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli cheaply again. Pant and Gill added 96 at more than five an over to counteract the rot that had set in on the first evening. Pant in particular was strict and didn't let lead spinner Ajaz bowl at all. Overnight 1 of 1, Pant started as he wanted to go. Ajaz had a full ball on the first ball of the day, which Pant pushed straight out of mid-on, who moved deeper after the boundary. On the second ball, Pant stepped up and drilled it straight from the deep mid-off line, which was now moving into the distance. Gill joined him with an inside-out chip over extra cover in Ajaz's next over.

Pant then played the four-a-side round shot to push the forward's short leg behind square, and promptly offered the forward short leg the following two balls, which could have been called catches. It was Pant's attacking mentality that forced New Zealand to choose between the two team zones. Pant managed two sixes in Ajaz's next two overs.

Gill didn't want to be left behind. He attempted to hit Phillips' first ball of the day for a six, but ended up failing over long where substitute fielder Mark Chapman gave him a reprieve. That changed his innings. He lowered his head and only used the limits offered. He was 45 off 57 when he was dropped, the remaining 45 coming from 89 balls.

Matt Henry also dropped Pant, but this miss only cost New Zealand seven runs as Pant was brought to bowl by a short ball from Ish Sodhi, who had only 84 runs left in the bank. Phillips, the hapless bowler, was arguably the most consistent spinner of the three and was instrumental in helping Ajaz find his rhythm after lunch with a performance of 8.4-2-27-3.

Ajaz had found the good length, the pitch started to deteriorate even more and the results followed. More than 10 overs went without a boundary and brought the wickets of Ravindra Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan, the latter for a duck on his home ground.

Both fell to the forward defense without reaching the ball. Gill concluded he wasn't going to sit back. He reinforced his intent by taking on Phillips. However, Ajaz eventually managed to turn from a good length and take the edge for another catch to Daryl Mitchell at slip.

India was still 8 points behind. Washington now took the lead, scoring 14 in a 20-run stand with R Ashwin and all 16 runs in the final stand with Akash Deep to take the lead beyond 25.

Washington received a bigger vote of confidence when he opened the bowling off Ashwin, but it was Akash Deep whose angle and seam movement around the wicket took out another left-hand opener. India continued to operate with the combination of Washington and Ashwin getting a wicket each, Devon Conway in the striker defense and Rachin Ravindra failing to hit a six.

When the two right-hand batters, Young and Mitchell, came in, all eyes turned to Jadeja. Ashwin agreed to let Jadeja bowl from his end, the end from which Jadeja and Ajaz had taken wickets. However, Rohit wanted Ashwin to continue bowling. The partnership grew, the ends changed and Jadeja picked Mitchell out with more than a hand from Ashwin, who was running back from mid-off, to take a diving catch.

Tom Blundell didn't last long, but Phillips hit three sixes in no time, two of them against Ashwin, who after a long time pulled the carrom ball out of his back pocket and threw it back off-stump. It was a surprise that top Test batters did not choose the carrom ball: even the accomplished and knowledgeable Young was not caught and bowled a ball to one.

Henry and Ajaz scored a six each, but Henry was bowled by an unplayable delivery from Jadeja, which turned out to be the last of the day.