Brendon McCullum led a strong New Zealand riposte after Harbhajan Singh's second successive century propelled India to a mammoth first innings total of 472 on the fourth day of the second Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here today.

At tea, the visitors, having overcome a deficit of 122 runs, were comfortably placed at 131 for the loss of first-innings centurion Tim McIntosh, who was trapped by Pragyan Ojha when just one short of a half century.