The New Zealand pacers, led by the ruthless William O’Rourke (3/13), exploited the gloomy conditions to the hilt to reduce an unwitting India to a disastrous 34 for six at lunch after a truncated first session on the second day of the opening test on Thursday. Rishabh Pant (15, 41b) was on the brink after Ravindra Jadeja (0) was dismissed around lunchtime. The first day of this competition was canceled due to rain. Once the rain subsided, Rohit Sharma opted to bat under gray skies and none of the Indian batters looked comfortable, including the skipper himself. He was also the first batter to leave. After pushing around 15 balls, Rohit (2) looked to free himself with an extended drive but Tim Southee’s wobble seam cutting back disturbed his stumps considerably.

Before we delve further into the unrest among the Indian batsmen, Matt Henry’s opening spell must be mentioned in block letters as the Kiwi pacer troubled them to no end.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who stood a foot outside the crease to nullify the swing, was all at sea against Henry.

There were several play-and-miss moments in his innings, as you would expect in these conditions, but the southpaw showed some grit to stay in the middle.

Virat Kohli (0) came in at the rather unfamiliar No. 3 position, but his stay was cut short after nine balls.

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham introduced O’Rourke and the pacer immediately caught the big fish.

Kohli tried to fire a climbing delivery towards the side but he was out of control as the ball ricocheted off his gloves on its way to Glenn Phillips at the leg gutter.

Sarfaraz Khan, who came into the XI after a stiff neck forced Shubman Gill to sit out this match, was in no mood to hang around even when the ball was moving around.

On the third ball he faced, the Mumbai man tried to punch Henry at mid-on, but Devon Conway made a leap of faith to grab the ball, leaving Henry in a fit of laughter.

In fact, at 10 for three, it was an understatement to say that India were in danger, and the home side needed a huge lift from then on.

Perhaps a brief rain break from 10.27 am to 11.05 am also helped India regain their strength.

Pant, who was dropped on 7 by stumper Tom Blundell of O’Rourke, got India’s first boundary of the day in the fifth ball of the 12th over, a mash through the covers of the same bowler.

But Jaiswal’s patience was not rewarded (13, 63b) as he fell to O’Rourke, as Ajaz Patel completed a stunning catch at point after a rasping shot from the batsman.

The dismissals of KL Rahul (0), caught down the leg side by Blundell off O’Rourke, and Jadeja pushed India further against the wall, forcing Pant to launch the rescue mission again in the second session.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)