a sitter from Williamson on 32 and Shikhar Dhawan put down McCullum on 102.

Early in the day Dhawan dropped Peter Fulton on one, although the damage was not as severe as with the McCullum miss as the New Zealand opener only made 13 before he was rapped on the pads by Zaheer Khan.

That was when the Indian pace men were dominating as they found plenty of movement to trouble the batsmen.

Ishant Sharma was the first to strike when he teased Hamish Rutherford (six) with deliveries that angled away until the left-hander slashed and caught an edge which was well taken by Ajinkya Rahane in the gully.

Sharma also claimed Ross Taylor, who had provided the backbone of the New Zealand batting in recent months but looked uncomfortable against theIndia quicks.

Taylor made three off 15 deliveries before driving Sharma to Jadeja at mid-off for an early return to the pavilion.

Sharma earned the most respect among the Indian bowlers and finished the day with two for 62 while Zaheer Khan proved expensive with two for 98.