First Test, Wellington; Day one: New Zealand (53 for 1 at close) v India (161 all out)

India collapsed to 161 all out on the first day of the opening Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

New Zealand were 53-1 in reply at the close, losing opener Lou Vincent, who made 12, with the total at 30.

Mark Richardson, 27 not out, and skipper Stephen Fleming (11) survived the rest of the session before bad light cut short the day's play.

The only real highlight of India's first innings was Rahul Dravid's 76.

Only some last-wicket slogging by Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra pushed the tourists past the 150-mark.

Dravid came in with just two overs gone after opener Virender Sehwag played a poor shot to Daryl Tuffey and was bowled between bat and pad.

Brilliant catch

When the 29-year-old was finally out, playing outside a Scott Styris delivery, he had faced 172 balls, hitting 13 fours.

Zaheer was the last wicket to fall for a hard-hit 19, when he was brilliantly caught by debutant Jacob Oram at backward point.

Khan parried a rising Shane Bond ball behind Oram, who leapt to pluck the ball out of the air, juggled it once and held on to end the innings.

Bond took the key wicket of Sourav Ganguly

Fleming won the toss and asked India to bat on a green pitch that offered considerable movement.

Tuffey dismissed Sehwag in the second over then had Sanjay Bangar, who hit just one run in 26 minutes, caught by Styris at third slip.

Sachin Tendulkar was New Zealand's next victim, misjudging a delivery by Oram and offering no shot.

He was hit just above the kneeroll and given lbw by umpire Ashoka de Silva for eight, leaving India at 29 for three.

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly lived dangerously throughout his innings.

He was dropped on two by Fleming and then by Nathan Astle, again off Bond, when he was on 17.

But Bond's very next ball - the last before lunch - tempted Ganguly into another edge that flew to Vincent in the gully.

Edged

The afternoon session began with a wicket in the first over from Bond when Vangipurappu Laxman was caught behind by wicketkeeper Robbie Hart for a second-ball duck.

Dravid then staged a sixth-wicket stand of 37 with Parthiv Patel (8), which ended when Patel edged a short ball from Oram to Lou Vincent at third slip.

Ajit Agarkar was the next to go for 12 when he was caught at second slip by Astle off Styris.

Styris then dismissed Harbhajan Singh with his next ball, his hook shot well caught by a diving Craig McMillan in the outfield.

Zaheer denied Styris a hat-trick, though only because his edged shot fell just short of Vincent in the slips.

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New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Robbie Hart, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Daryl Tuffey.

India: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Sanjay Bangar, Virendra Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka)

TV umpire: Billy Bowden

Match referee: Mike Proctor (South Africa)