India push Kiwis against the wall

India ended the first day of the first Test against New Zealand well on top, having folded New Zealand up for 279.

Centuries by New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori and Jesse Ryder inspired a New Zealand fightback on day one of the first Test against India in Hamilton.

A horror start had the hosts reeling at 61 for six at lunch after India won the toss and opted to bowl first at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

But Vettori and Ryder steadied the ship with a 186-run partnership to take New Zealand to 246 before Vettori was finally caught behind by MS Dhoni off the bowling of Munaf Patel for 118.

Ryder faced some nervous moments in the nineties before earning a deserved maiden Test century.

At 98 the big left-hander was forced to watch as Chris Martin, described by many as the worst batsmen in Test cricket with an average of 2.17, fended off Harbhajan Singh for almost a full over before Ryder was handed his chance.

He took it, smacking his 14th boundary of the innings to reach 102 in 161 balls before skying the next Ishant Sharma delivery to VVS Laxman and bringing New Zealand's innings to a close on 279.

Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag survived seven overs to be 29 for nought at the close, trailing by 250 runs going into day two.

Sehwag hit five boundaries, including three off one Kyle Mills over, to be 22 not out, while Gambhir was unbeaten on six.

Vettori's innings was a crucial one for his side but was not without its scares as the skipper was almost run out on the penultimate ball before tea and was then dropped by Rahul Dravid on 77.

He eventually brought up third Test century with a single after a streaky sweep shot, the 100 taking 139 balls and including 13 fours and two sixes.

His dismissal sparked the beginning of the end for the New Zealanders' first innings with Kyle Mills yorked the very next ball by Patel to leave the hosts 246 for eight.

Iain O'Brien and Ryder, who had brought up his half-century with a quick single on an over throw after his captain was almost run out, added another 29 runs before the tail ender was stumped for eight by Dhoni after moving down the wicket against Harbhajan Singh.

Then came Martin's stand against the dangerous Indian spinner which earned him huge cheers from the crowd before Ryder capped off a fine day for himself with his ton.

A total of 279 had not looked likely after a dreadful start to the day.

Having got through the first hour, the Black Caps batting line-up simply fell apart in the face of some solid bowling by the Indian seamers, Sharma, Zaheer Khan and Patel.

Test debutant Martin Guptill was the first to go when he edged Kahn to Dravid in the slips after reaching 14, leaving the total on 17 for one.

His replacement, Daniel Flynn, lasted just three balls before he too fell foul to Kahn, caught behind by Dhoni off a leg-side delivery for no runs.

Ross Taylor was given a lifeline when he was dropped by Virender Sehwag in the gully when on nought and then Tim McIntosh survived a run-out chance with New Zealand on 26 for two.

But neither made it count with McIntosh going shortly afterwards for 12 then Taylor (18) and James Franklin following in quick succession as Sharma struck three times to leave the hosts 51 for five.

Patel then had Brendon McCullum caught by Laxman in the slips for three and the Black Caps were in deep trouble.

Sharma (four for 73 off 19.2 overs) and Patel (three for 60 off 18) were the chief wicket-takers but Harbhajan also bowled well to finish with one for 57 off 22 overs, including seven maidens.