It is not often that we see Virat Kohli scoring at a strike rate of below 50 but a difficult pitch in Indore ensured just that. Kohli hit five boundaries in his unbeaten 102-ball knock but was largely restrained and solid as he and Ajinkya Rahane took India to 148/3 at tea on Day 1.
New Zealand, to their credit, plugged away and were disciplined, and could have got more wickets, if things went their way. Mitchell Santner delivered a beauty, turning from middle-and-leg to off to knock out Cheteshwar Pujara's stumps. Ajinkya Rahane started off patiently and remained intact to ensure India lost only a single wicket in the session.
The revelation was Virat Kohli though, who played out plenty of dot balls and showed that he could play the long graft, when required. On the occasion when he got the opportunity, he did manage to put away the bad deliveries and will hope to get a long-awaited big score when he resumes after tea.
Brief scores:
India 148/3 (Virat Kohli 45 not out, Cheteshwar Pujara 41; Mitchell Santner 1/26) v New Zealand