Kane Williamson's century on Test debut was the highlight of a steady morning session in which New Zealand continued to close in on India's first-innings score and improve the chances of the match ending in a draw. Williamson was supported by his captain Daniel Vettori, who played a characteristically gritty innings, and the pair added 86 before Williamson fell in the final over before lunch.
India's chances in the session before that late breakthrough came in the first four overs: Vettori was saved from becoming a lbw victim to Zaheer Khan by an inside-edge in the second over of the day; Williamson nicked just short of third slip in the next from Sreesanth; and Vettori survived another lbw appeal two overs later, when Sreesanth struck him high on the pad.
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For the next 100 minutes, it was all New Zealand. Williamson hit a couple of boundaries off Zaheer - a pull behind square and a glance to fine leg three balls later - to move from 93 to 101 and become the eighth New Zealander to make a hundred in his first Test. There were no extravagant theatrics that you might expect from a 20-year-old who had played a fine innings to rescue his team from a tight spot, just a big grin and a wave of the bat towards the dressing room.
Vettori settled down after his initial jitters, mostly nudging the ball around for singles, though there was a punch down the ground for four off Zaheer and a waltz out of the crease to deposit Pragyan Ojha over long-off. He was unbeaten on 41 at lunch, having passed 4000 Test runs, again showcasing how much his batting has developed in the past few years.
India's bowlers were flat on a pitch which was still good for batting. It didn't help that Zaheer, who has been MS Dhoni's go-to bowler, didn't appear to be 100% fit, rarely hitting even 130kmh. The spinners tried but any turn they extracted was so slow that the batsman had plenty of time to adjust. At lunch on the fourth day, a victory for either team looked unlikely.
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