New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell (97 off 188) and wicket-keeper batter Tom Blundell (90 off 182) starred with the bat after England debutant Matthew Potts gave the early blows to the visitors once again to tilt the match in Kiwis' favour at the end of second day's play.
The duo found a support system in one another as they went on to put on an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 180 to take New Zealand's lead over 200.
England eke out a slender lead of 9 runs
England earlier resumed Day 2 at 116-7 and was trailing by 16 runs with three wickets in hand. However, the hosts lost the wicket of Stuart Broad in the morning session as Tim Southee clattered his leg stump to see him walk back to the pavilion.
Foakes was the second one of the day to fall prey to Southee's good length delivery, with Daryl Mitchell making no mistake at first slip. Trent Boult then gave it a mortal blow by dismissing concussion substitute, Matthew Parkinson.
However, the cameo knocks from the trio helped England add up 25 runs to the overnight score, taking the England scoreboard tally to 141 and providing them with a narrow first-innings lead of nine runs.
New Zealand's Pace Predators On Attack
For New Zealand, Tim Southee was at his lethal best even on the second day of the game as he ended the inning with 4 wickets under his belt while conceding 55 runs. Trent Boult was equally impressive as he picked up 3 wickets. Also, Jamieson had a couple of wickets in his pocket while Grandhomme ended with one, that too of the big man, Joe Root.
England thwarted by Daryl Mitchell & Tom Blundell
New Zealand once again got off to a terrible start with the bat as they lost opener Will Young for another low score as James Anderson removed him for the score of 1. Skipper Kane Williamson (15 off 34) was the next to follow as he tried a backfoot punch off Matthew Potts only to find a thick outside edge to hand the cherry to Bairstow at slips.
Potts got the skipper twice in this Test Match. A dream debut for Durham bowler continued as he sent the vice-captain Tom Latham (14 off 33) back to the pavilion to claim two wickets on the second day of the game. Devon Conway (13 off 34), too, had a short stay as Stuart Broad once again dismissed him to leave New Zealand in trouble at 56/4.
Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell then joined hands to frustrate the English bowlers with the controlled batting as the duo added the highest run-stand in the series opener so far. Their partnership meant New Zealand stretched its lead to 227 runs over England, which had earlier been bowled out for just 141.
Brief Score on Day 2:
New Zealand - 132-10 (40.0) [1st innings]
Colin de Grandhomme 42*, Tim Southee 26 (23);
Matthew Potts 4-13 (9.2), James Aderson 4-66 (16)
England - 141/10 (42.5) [1st Innings]
Zak Crawley 43 (56), Alex Lees 25 (77);
Tim Southee 4-55 (14), Boult 3-21 (13.5)
New Zealand - 236/4 [2nd Innings]
Daryl Mitchell 97* (188), Tom Blundell 90* (182); Matthew Potts 2-50 (19)
New Zealand lead by 227 runs.