The Green Park Stadium in Kanpur was not a raging turner which preyed on batsmen's minds. It had spin, it had bounce and it had purchase for the spinners. But it was not unplayable for the batsmen. And on that count, India will look back at their score of 291/9 at the close of Day 1, and regard it as a day of missed opportunities.
They had started off the day well. There was the early dismissal of KL Rahul but Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay looked in impeccable form. Pujara, ironically, was the aggressor and merrily kept coming down the track, putting the New Zealand spinners off their rhythms. At the other end, Murali Vijay was his gritty, obdurate self.
At 151/1, India would have fancied a score of above 400. But Pujara's soft dismissal turned it all around. Virat Kohli was found out by a Neil Wagner steepler, only managing to top-edge to deep fine leg. Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane departed after that. The inevitable Indian batting collapse had just taken place.
The dismissal which had to hurt the most was the one of Rohit Sharma's. With Ravichandran Ashwin bringing his spectacular form from the Caribbean back home, India were slowly getting back to the contest again. A half-century partnership had been forged and Ashwin was in silken touch. Sharma had huffed and puffed his way to 35 before deciding, not for the first time in a Test match, to do something he had no reason to: slog Santner only to get caught at mid-on.
Ashwin's cameo to an end soon after as India finished the day on 291/9 with Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav at the crease. Sure, as the series against South Africa last year demonstrated, 300 could be enough and Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja may well come together on Friday and carry on from where they left off last year. That however will not take away from the fact that India's batsmen were underwhelming on an occasion which demanded greater patience.
Brief scores
India 291/9 (Murali Vijay 65, Cheteshwar Pujara 62, Ravichandran Ashwin 40; Trent Boult 3/57, Mitchell Santner 3/77) (End of Day 1)