After the first Test in Wellington, Virat Kohli quipped: "I don't think being cautious or wary will help because you might stop playing your shots. You will start doubting that if even singles are not coming in those conditions, what will you do?"

It was obvious that the Indian batsmen would up the tempo in the second Test. They were going to counterattack and put the New Zealand bowlers under pressure regardless of the conditions. Until the stroke of tea, the more aggressive approach was proving effective. Cheteshwar Pujara (54) was striding towards full balls and dispatching them to the fence. Hanuma Vihari (55) took on Neil Wagner's bouncer barrage and struck a few boundaries. Prithvi Shaw (54) ran a couple of quick singles at the start of his innings. Ajinkya Rahane (7) began his knock by driving a good length ball through the covers.

For 53 overs, the strategy was working well as India moved swiftly to 194-4 on a pitch that resembled Wimbledon's centre court.

Head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Kohli would have been elated with their batsmen showing more purpose. But just as India were seizing control of the game, there was a sense of unnaturalness to the batting.