The home side was nicely placed at 263 for three.
But some odd decision-making and persistence from the Otago attack saw the scales tip back into a more neutral position.
Northern Districts were 313 for seven at stumps.
Toby Hart will be gunning for a maiden five-wicket bag today.
The right-arm seamer has four for 68. He is likely to have bowled a lot better and had a lot less success.
Luke Georgeson was easily the pick of the Otago seamers. The Volts captain took two for 41 and plugged away on a good line and length.
The first session most certainly did not go to plan for Otago.
They opted to bowl but were denied a breakthrough.
In-form openers Jeet Raval and Henry Cooper carried their bat through the opening few hours, adding 96 runs between them.
Cooper was fresh from an undefeated knock of 206 against Auckland, while Raval scored 129 in a monster partnership with Cooper in that game.
No doubt they planned a repeat effort against Otago, but were undone by the lunch break. It often proves a circuit breaker.
Three balls into the afternoon session, Raval (33) had a brain explosion, which can only have been brought on by too many carbohydrates.
The left-hander dangled his bat at a short and wide delivery from Hart and guided a gentle edge into the gloves of Max Chu.
Cooper (60) learned nothing while watching from the other end. The right-hander played virtually the same shot during Hart’s next over and got the same result.
It was a brief burst of joy before the Otago attack returned to suffering some more.
Bharat Popli and Joe Carter took turns at landing gut punches before the tea break.
They had guided their side to 187 for two.
Popli was careful about the deliveries he attacked and was decisive when he did, whereas Carter squeezed a few from the edge of his bat and had some hairy moments.
The net result was more frustration for Otago.
Both players pushed on to half centuries after the break.
Popli lofted a delivery from Ben Lockrose down the ground for six to reach the milestone with a flourish, and Carter pulled Danru Ferns to the square leg boundary.
Ferns got some payback moments later.
For some reason, Carter decided to play a forward defensive shot in front of around about where the eighth stump might be if there was an eighth stump.
He practised the shot again before wandering off for 52. He should have looked back to see where the off stump was so he could remember for next time.
Otago brought on the part-timers in Troy Johnson and Jack Boyle to kill a few overs before they could take the new ball.
A refreshed Hart returned to the crease and he got Robbie O’Donnell. You could argue O’Donnell did not have to play at that either, but he did and Georgeson nabbed the catch in the slips.
What had been a good day for the home side suddenly soured.
Brett Hampton looped a caught and bowled to Georgeson next over.
Three balls later, Georgeson removed Ben Pomare with a cracking delivery that brushed the edge.
Chu pulled off a stunning diving catch in support of Georgeson.
Then Hart grabbed his fourth in the next over — Popli strangled down leg side for 91.
The ball was there to hit, but he only got a fraction of it and Chu was on the spot to snatch his fifth catch.
In Napier, Central Districts opener Curtis Heaphy scored 119 to anchor his side's innings of 239. Canterbury was 13 for one at stumps.
Auckland mustered 350 for nine. Liam Dudding took five for 67 for Wellington and his side was 21 without loss at stumps at Eden Park Outer Oval.
NORTHERN DISTRICTS
First innings
J Raval c Chu b Hart 33
H Cooper c Chu b Hart 60
B Popli c Chu b Hart 91
J Carter c Chu b Ferns 52
R O’Donnell c Georgeson b Hart 32
B Hampton c&b Georgeson 1
B Pomare c Chu b Georgeson 0
K Clarke not out 21
T Pringle not out 16
Extras (2b, 2lb, 1w, 2nb) 7
Total (For seven, 96 overs) 313
Fall: 1-96, 2-101, 3-200, 4-263, 5-268, 6-268. 7-276.
Bowling: L Georgeson 18-6-41-2, J McKay 17-3-70-0 (1w), D Ferns 17-3-44-1 (2nb), T Hart 19-4-68-4, B Lockrose 17-4-65-0, T Johnson 4-0-14-0, J Boyle 3-1-2-0, J Cumming 1-0-5-0.
