At the break, New Zealand were 29 for no loss, building on the slender 12-run lead they managed to get after dismissing India minutes before lunch.
The Indian first innings folded after their batsmen failed to negotiate an inspiring spell from Southee who used the second new ball and existing pitch conditions to his advantage picking up four wickets out of the remaining five with extraordinary figures of 7 for 64.
Southee sent packing centurion Virat Kohli, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Zaheer Khan and Pragyan Ojha in quick succession with the new ball early on.
The overnight Indian pair of Kohli and Dhoni resumed the innings with couple of hits to the fence. But they succumbed to some magnificent bowling by Southee.
The Indian batsmen, especially Kohli and Dhoni, spurned an opportunity to consolidate on the overnight score of 283 for five. Once the top-half was gone, the Indian tail too did not wag much.
R Ashwin (32 not out) was an exception though, scoring runs in boundaries before he fell short of partners at the other end.
