Kane Williamson and Tom Latham entered the pantheon of the country's grittiest subcontinental partnerships, but by the narrowest of margins after surviving the scrutiny of Indian spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin.
Williamson (65) and Latham (56) put on an unbeaten 117, warding off a cacophony of shrieking appeals, a deteriorating wicket and stifling humidity.
New Zealand's second-wicket record in India is held by Mark Richardson and Scott Styris who contributed 151 together at Mohali in 2003.
Latham swept a ball into his boot off Jadeja on 47. It was caught by Lokesh Rahul at short leg, but he contravened the game's laws by using the helmet grille to assist the catch.
Williamson edged to slip Ajinkya Rahane off Jadeja on 31, but the softness of his grip saw it fall centimetres short.
Any opportunity to mop the inside of their helmets with towels and slug back electrolyte-replacement fluids was seized in a bid to fend off the fatigue that comes with batting in a sauna.
As their pores opened so did the cracks in the Kanpur pitch. Technical nous and a touch of luck saw them emerge from the session unscathed.
Williamson looked accustomed to the conditions in a country where he made a century on debut at Ahmedabad in 2010. He also spent a considerable period in the local nets during this year's Indian Premier League. The skipper allowed the ball to come to him and didn't allow his opponents to settle.
Latham used the sweep as a staple. He struggled to master the stroke at times, but the ball sneaked through his defences without calamity. What he lacked in finesse he supplemented with concentration. The left-hander showed the inscrutable countenance of a contestant in the Mastermind chair.
The pair sapped the Indian attack after the dismissal of Martin Guptill for 21 in the 10th over. Just as he looked to breathe confidence into a fragile test game, Yadav angled a ball in to trap him lbw with the score on 35.
Earlier, Jadeja and Umesh Yadav offered a lifeline to India's first innings. After coming together at 277 for nine on the opening day, they injected pep to a wilting scorecard.
Jadeja delighted with his footwork. He lofted Mitchell Santner over long-on for six, drove him through mid-off for four and eased a ball off the back foot to the boundary in front of point.
Cue Neil Wagner, a man renowned as a partnership breaker.
In he stormed and, with the final ball of his first over, brushed Yadav's gloves down the legside. Watling took his third catch of the innings and Wagner moved to 96 wickets in his 24th test.
He is four second-innings wickets away from breaking Sir Richard Hadlee record of reaching the 100-wicket milestone in 25 matches.
- by Andrew Alderson
