Tim Southee's choice to bowl first turned out to be a brilliant one as the New Zealand bowling attack, spearheaded by Southee and Trent Boult, took full advantage of the green pitch. They caused seam movement and swing, which made things tough for the Australian batters. Together with some excellent defensive catches from Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, the Blackcaps' disciplined bowling effort put the visitors on the back foot early on, limiting their pace of production and regularly taking key wickets. With their impressive performance, New Zealand has taken full control of the first Test, and Australia will face an uphill task on Day 2 to rebuild their innings.
Australia, who had just won the Twenty20 International series, had a new task in store in the red-ball format. After being moved up to open for the second time in a row, Steve Smith struggled for 31 runs until Matt Henry's ball reached the boundary and Tom Blundell made an incredible diving catch. Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne weathered the early storm together, but throughout the day, wickets fell at regular intervals.
Even though Australia reached 206/6 in the third session, New Zealand's disciplined bowling attack had the better of the day. The Blackcaps dominated from start to finish, while Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green provided some late fight with undefeated efforts of 8* and 53* runs, respectively. Southee, Henry, and Wagner all made early breakthroughs that placed pressure on the visitors, and wickets dropped often. Despite a pivotal 63-run partnership between Khawaja and Green, New Zealand maintained control and will be seeking to exploit more opportunities on Day 2.
