Taylor and Ryder boost Black Caps

Ross Taylor congratulates Jesse Ryder on his second hundred in as many Tests

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Superb centuries by Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder were the highlights of day one of the second Test against India as New Zealand reached 351 for four at stumps in Napier.

The pair put on a record fourth-wicket partnership of 271 runs to dig the home side out of a hole after another sorry start left them 23 for three early in the day.

Taylor's 151 was three runs shy of his highest Test score and included 26 boundaries and one six, while Ryder was unbeaten on 137 when play ended at McLean Park.

James Franklin was 26 not out but was lucky to be there after surviving a caught behind appeal and seeing Yuvraj Singh drop him in the slips.

Yuvraj had a bad day in the field as he also dropped Taylor, when the stylish 25-year-old right-hander was on four, and it proved to be costly.

Having won the toss and opted to bat on the batsman friendly wicket, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori would have been disappointed to see three wickets fall inside the opening 11 overs.

But Taylor and Ryder turned the tide superbly, hitting boundaries all round the ground as previously dominant India were given a taste of their own medicine.

The tourists suffered a setback even before the Test began when captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a late withdrawal with a back problem.

But they would have been buoyed by the start they had with Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill and Jamie How - in for the injured Daniel Flynn - all dismissed early.

McIntosh was unlucky to be given caught behind off Ishant Sharma for 12 but How could have no complaints as he edged a yorker from Zaheer Khan right on to his stumps.

Zaheer struck again at the start of his next over when Martin Guptill tried to fend off a bouncer only to see the ball fly to gully where Virender Sehwag, taking over the captaincy duties, took a diving catch.

Ryder saw off the hat-trick ball and he and Taylor guided the Black Caps to 98 for three by lunch.

Martin Guptill edges Zaheer Khan to leave New Zealand in deep trouble at 23 for three

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While India enjoyed the upper hand in the morning session, the afternoon belonged to New Zealand's batsmen.

In the fourth over after the interval Taylor brought up his half-century with his 11th four of the innings and three overs later Ryder joined him when he struck a boundary through cover to bring up his 52.

The pair continued to pile the pressure on the India bowlers waiting to pick off the bad ball, and some that were not so bad either, and they also rotated the strike well to keep the runs flowing.

Taylor moved quickly into the 90s with three successive boundaries off Yuvraj, although the last one was somewhat streaky as he was dropped by Rahul Dravid at first slip.

He then faced several nervous deliveries while on 99, surviving an lbw shout from Harbhajan Singh and almost causing Ryder to be run out after opting for a quick single only to change his mind and send his partner back.

But he finally cut loose with a drive off Zaheer in the final over before tea to reach his third Test century.

His 18th four helped him to 103 in 151 balls before he hit another two deliveries to the rope to get New Zealand to 233 for three at tea.

Ryder's second century in successive Tests came in equally expansive fashion early in the final session when he steered a full-ish, wide Zaheer delivery through cover point to bring up 103 in 147 balls to become the first New Zealander since Nathan Astle in 1996 to score back-to-back tons in Tests.

Taylor then brought up his 150 but in the next over he holed out to Yuvraj in the deep having added just one more run to bring to an end to a highly entertaining 204-ball innings.

That left Ryder and Franklin to take New Zealand to the close although Franklin was lucky to survive.

Overall it was a tough day for Yuvraj. In addition to two dropped catches he also conceded 14 runs in his only over. Harbhajan was the most economical with six maidens in his 26 overs for one for 61.

Zaheer was the main wicket-taker with 2-94 off 23 (four maidens), while Munaf Patel struggled, his 18 overs costing 78 runs.