New Zealand end day on high after Nicholls' repair work

Henry Nicholls' maiden Test century was the centrepiece of a New Zealand fightback on the opening day at the Basin Reserve which was capped by the removal of both South Africa's openers. JP Duminy nipped in with a career-best 4 for 47 as South Africa's spinners shared six wickets to keep New Zealand to 268, but that total grew in significance when Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme struck in a tense seven-over period before stumps.

From 21 for 3 - after early damage done by Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada - New Zealand's total represented a good recovery particularly considering the inexperience of the top order. That said, when Nicholls and BJ Watling put on 116 for the sixth wicket, they will have expected a few more than they ended up with from 217 for 5. The fact that they slipped against the fill-in offspin of Duminy, who claimed three wickets in consecutive overs, will have been a little difficult to stomach.

Still, it was South Africa who finished feeling queasy. Faced with a 25-minute period to face before the close, Stephen Cook's poor series continued when he edged a loose poke to second slip and then de Grandhomme, given the new ball ahead of Neil Wagner, had Dean Elgar taken in the same position: it took New Zealand 548 balls to remove him twice in Dunedin and 19 to get him the first time here.

The fact New Zealand's bowlers had something to work with was down to Nicholls. He entered with Rabada having taken two wickets before conceding a run, the ball moving and Kane Williamson already dismissed. He weathered the challenge through to lunch and came out with a very positive intent after the break.

Shortly after the resumption, he twice upper cut Morne Morkel over the slips and then danced down the pitch at Keshav Maharaj to bring up his fifty. He fell for 98 against Bangladesh earlier this season, but did not have to linger long in the 90s on this occasion: he flayed a wide delivery from Rabada through backward point then pulled him over square leg to reach his century from 150 deliveries.

Some of his driving was especially sweet, latching on when South Africa's quicks overpitched in search for swing, and, with the aplomb of someone renowned as a good player of spin, he milked Maharaj. At a time when there are concerns about the batting depth behind Williamson and Taylor it was a timely innings, both in the short term for this match and the future shape of New Zealand's middle order.

Nicholls' wicket, missing a flick at Duminy, sparked New Zealand's second slide but that should not distract from an outstanding innings which came from his side in the mire. De Grandhomme went softy against Duminy, advancing down the pitch and edging to slip but Watling, who had followed his half-century in Dunedin with 34 off 132 balls, will count himself unlucky having under-edged a sweep onto his back pad flap which looped up for Quinton de Kock.

Spin was not at the forefront of Faf du Plessis' mind when he won the toss. He thought the ball would swing on a slightly warmer day and was also eager to target New Zealand's lightweight-looking top order in the absence of Ross Taylor. The early exchanges justified him on both accounts.

Tom Latham's struggles continued when he edged Morkel to third slip before Rabada, shifted from the new-ball to first change, made an immediate impact. A full, swinging delivery trapped Williamson lbw and when the New Zealand captain called for DRS there was a malfunction with the system - understood to be caused by a piece of mud kicked up by Rabada which confused two of the cameras - which meant ball-tracking wasn't available. It looked like it would be clipping at worst, and New Zealand did not lose the review because the full system wasn't available, but it was scant consolation for losing their captain.

Having plied his trade on the domestic scene for 15 years, Neil Broom began his Test career with a four-ball duck, but he wouldn't have fallen to many better catches in that time than the snaffle by de Kock. Rabada, this time nipping the ball away, found Broom's outside edge and de Kock dived full-length in front of first slip - the ball would not have reached Hashim Amla.

As had in Dunedin, Jeet Raval showed good judgement outside off, waiting to pick off anything on the pads or overpitched and, alongside Nicholls, gave New Zealand a foothold only for it loosen on the stroke of lunch. Late in the session, du Plessis turned to spin. Firstly it was from Duminy, a brief experiment for the offspinner to target two left-handers, before turning to his specialist in Maharaj. He drew an edge first ball which just eluded Amla at slip, brought a nervous jab at another delivery before, tossing one a little wider, Raval pushed away from his body.

Nicholls and James Neesham took 25 off a two-over post-lunch spell from Morkel as New Zealand rattled to three figures, but the surge was stopped in its tracks when Neesham dragged his back foot out of the crease against Maharaj. Neesham knew he was out of his ground and virtually walked for the stumping. For all the focus on South Africa's quicks, it was Maharaj's seventh wicket of the series. At that point, New Zealand had lost half their side for 101 and risked being a distant second by the end of the day. Yet, when stumps arrived in the late-summer Wellington sunlight, the match was fascinatingly balanced.