Otago had its nose in front after the first day of its Plunket Shield match against Wellington in the capital yesterday.
Led by left-arm medium pacer Bradley Scott, the Volts restricted the home side to 279 for eight at stumps.
However, the final two wickets will be in popular demand this morning, particularly the scalp of Luke Ronchi, who will resume on 83 when play gets under way at 10.30am.
Scott finished the day with four wickets for 51 runs from 20 overs, and was responsible for a middle-order collapse earlier in the day.
After a damp outfield delayed play for an hour, Otago captain Hamish Rutherford won the toss and put the home side into bat on a green Basin Reserve pitch.
Wellington started well with openers Michael Papps and Luke Woodcock putting on 61 for the opening wicket.
But led by Scott, the visiting side hit back to snare three wickets in 19 deliveries to reduce Wellington to 67 for three.
Scott got the timely breakthrough with the final delivery of the 21st over, when he trapped Papps lbw for 32.
Papps misjudged the inswinging delivery and paid the price for not offering a shot.
It was good reward for Scott, who was perhaps unlucky not to pick up Woodcock in the fifth over, after he edged a delivery through the slips cordon.
No 3 Stephen Murdoch and No 4 Craig Cachopa fell in quick succession to leave the Firebirds teetering at 67 for three.
Murdoch was caught behind by Derek de Boorder off seamer Jack Hunter for a duck, while Cachopa fell in almost identical fashion to Papps on one.
He too shouldered arms to an inswinging delivery from Scott.
Michael Pollard joined Woodcock at the crease, and together they got through to lunch at 74 for three.
But it did not take Scott long to pick up his third scalp after lunch, when Woodcock was caught down the legside by de Boorder on 39.
However, Pollard and Tom Blundell dug in to put on 56 runs for the fifth wicket, Pollard making 50 from 99 balls.
But he became the third player to fal llbw on the day, when spinner Rhys Phillips dismissed him shortly after raising his bat.
That brought the dangerous Luke Ronchi to the wicket with the score on 145 for five, and he immediately upped the scoring rate.
In Auckland, an unbeaten 104 by Bharat Popli helped Northern Districts reach stumps at 323 for seven after being sent into bat by the Aces.
Rain also interrupted the match between Canterbury and Central Districts in Rangiora, the home side struggling through to 208 for eight at stumps.
● A day after losing by 106 runs to Auckland in the women's under-21 national tournament, Otago suffered a five-wicket loss to Central in Auckland yesterday.
Polly Inglis top-scored with 93 from 101 deliveries as Otago scored 195 for six from its 46 overs, but Central coasted to victory with 36 deliveries in hand in response.
