India were in a position of strength in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur at the end of the third day's play, having extended the lead to 215 runs with nine wickets in hand. The hosts staged a strong comeback with Ravindra Jadeja (5/73) and R Ashwin (4/93) leading the way after New Zealand had the better of the hosts for the first two days. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara once again showcased their solidity, replicating their first-innings efforts to cap off a fine day's play for India.

Statistical highlights of the first three days' play from Kanpur:

492 - Runs scored in eight Tests by KL Rahul before his first Test on home soil. For India, only Sunil Gavaskar (918 in 7 Tests), Sachin Tendulkar (577 in 10) and Vijay Hazare (552 in 8) have scored more runs before their maiden Test at home.

48 - Runs scored by Murali Vijay in his first four innings against New Zealand, with his scores reading 26, 13, 2 and 7. He has scores of 65 and 64* in this Test.

2 - Century stands between Vijay and Pujara in their 18 partnerships since January 2014, both coming in this match. They had scored above fifty on seven occasions but failed to go past 91 before this Test. In the 11 stands prior to 2014, they reached three figures thrice.

164 - Runs for which India lost their last nine wickets in their first innings. It is the third biggest collapse for India against New Zealand after being 150-plus with one wicket down, after 87/9 in