Skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane shared an unbroken 167-run stand, the highest of the series so far, as India staged a tremendous fight back to reach 267 for three at stumps on the opening day of the third and final Test against New Zealand here at Holkar Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Having lost openers Murali Vijay and Gautam Gambhir for 10 and 29, respectively, Kohli (unbeaten 103) and Rahane (unbeaten 79) gradually steadied India's innings in front of an enthusiastic Indore crowd numbering over 18,000.
Kohli and Rahane will now aim to push India's innings when they come to bat on Sunday.
Earlier, India won their eight successive toss in home Test and opted to bat first.
The hosts lost opener Murali Vijay for mere 10 runs after Tom Latham took a fine catch at short leg off Jeetan Patel's delivery.
Gautam Gambhir, who was making a Test comeback after a gap of two years following Shikhar Dhawan's right thumb injury in the Kolkata Test, pulled Matt Henry for successive sixes in the fourth over before getting trapped on Trent Boult's delivery.
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Meanwhile, opener Cheteshwar Pujara also smashed notable 41 before getting dismissed by Mitchell Santner.
India are currently leading the three-match series 2-0 following their comprehensive 178-run win over New Zealand in the second Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.