The Black Caps won’t be entirely content with their batting performance on the second day of the first test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
But having overcome a collapse of 5/42 to make 307, take a 158-run advantage, and limit Zimbabwe to 31/2 in their second innings, New Zealand will enter day three as the happier of the two sides, still in front by 127.
A 61-run partnership between Daryl Mitchell (80) and Nathan Smith (22) carried New Zealand’s advantage into triple figures, having been united at 233/7.
Mitchell was by far the best of the Kiwi batters on day two, with 54 of his 80 runs coming between the wickets, and having to play the anchor role as wickets fell around him.
Smith, meanwhile, further showcased his value to New Zealand’s lower order, with his innings coming after a bowling haul of 3/20 on day one.
The only negative, though, came as the 27-year-old was forced from the field late in the day, after copping a barrage of short-pitched bowling that hit on the arm and the body more than once.
Smith played no further part in the day with a suspected abdominal strain, and will be assessed overnight in regards to his involvement in the rest of the test.
Faced with a deficit of more than they managed to score in the first innings, though, Zimbabwe lost both openers, and needing more than 100 runs to even make the Black Caps bat again, day three looms as a decisive one if the hosts are to avoid another heavy defeat in their home climes.
Having bowled Zimbabwe out on day one, and responding with an unbeaten 92-run stand between openers Will Young (41) and Devon Conway (88), a procession looked in order for the Black Caps to take the first test.
And yet, as New Zealand slipped from 158/1 to 200/6 shortly after lunch, the hosts exposed a lineup showing rust in its first outing since December last year, notably with more than half of the Black Caps batters falling to short-pitched deliveries.
From the first ball of the day, where Young was caught at short leg off Blessing Muzarabani (3/73), the Black Caps’ middle order couldn’t build partnerships, with the only exception being a 66-run stand between Henry Nicholls and Conway.
Playing his first test since December 2023, Nicholls looked fluent batting at No 3 in Kane Williamson’s absence, until he needlessly cut Muzarabani to Brian Bennett at gully to end his stay for 34. That dismissal triggered a middle order wobble that put paid to any hopes of a Kiwi walkover.
Zimbabwe continued to strike on the other side of lunch too; Rachin Ravindra came and went for just two when he edged Sikandar Raza to Craig Ervine at slip, before the big fish fell.
At the start of the second session, Conway failed to turn his fifty into a first test hundred since January 2023, when he too was caught by Bennett at gully, this time off Tanaka Chivanga (2/51).
Given Conway’s struggle for form in test cricket over the past 18 months, though, walking with a 170-ball 88 is definitely a platform the left-hander can build on.
Chivanga wasn’t done either, and also had Tom Blundell (2) caught at deep square leg, before Muzarabani returned to end Michael Bracewell’s (9) innings on his return to test cricket when his top-edged pull was snared by Tafadzwa Tsiga behind the stumps.
And just as it looked as though Mitchell Santner had stemmed the flow of wickets, the captain returned a simple caught-and-bowled chance to Vincent Masekesa, and was sent on his way for 19 at 233/7.
Amid the falling wickets Mitchell remained to take New Zealand’s lead over 100, and guided the Black Caps to 254/7 at tea, before reaching his fifty to start the final session with a cut that evaded point.
Mitchell found a valuable ally in Smith, who wore blows to the arm and the body with the new ball, as Zimbabwe’s fast bowlers went short at the burgeoning all-rounder.
Even as he and Mitchell raised their 50-partnership, though, Smith copping hit after hit from the seamers saw him needing treatment from the New Zealand physio in the final hour, before he was forced to retire hurt at 294/7.
And while Zimbabwe’s short-pitched ploy worked against Smith, Mitchell didn’t allow the same results, as he sent Newman Nyamhuri high over deep backward square for the first six of the match.
But with Smith unavailable, and Henry out for five when he was bowled by an arm ball from Sean Williams, Mitchell’s innings came to an end on 80, when he too lost his stumps looking to force the pace with only No 11 Will O’Rourke for company.
With such a significant advantage, Henry (1/11) and O’Rourke (1/18) got to work in making the new ball count, without Smith’s support as the third seamer.
Henry had New Zealand’s first of the second innings - and his seventh for the match - when Ben Curran (11) hooked straight to O’Rourke at fine leg at 25/1.
An over later, following an edge through the slips, Bennett’s test ended when he feathered O’Rourke to Blundell behind the stumps at 29/2, as Zimbabwe sent Masekesa in as a night watchman.
In the dying light, Santner turned to his spinners, as he and Bracewell closed out the day without further troubling the wickets column, despite a late LBW shout against Christian Welch that was turned down with the final ball.
Zimbabwe 149 & 31/2 (Bennett 18; Henry 1/11)
New Zealand 307 (Conway 88, Mitchell 80; Muzurabani 3/73)