Tea New Zealand 349 (Taylor 131, Williamson 58, Narine 6-91) trail West Indies 367 by 18 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ross Taylor made it three hundreds in three Tests but Sunil Narine cleaned up the tail to finish with six wickets and earn a slender lead for West Indies. The four remaining proper batsmen for New Zealand all went trying big strokes, the first two against spin and the last two against the second new ball. Taylor was the last of the specialist batsmen to depart, but not before he'd piloted New Zealand past 300.
Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson gave it away in the morning. The West Indies spinners bowled 25 of the 34 overs in the session, and New Zealand fared reasonably well against them. It was their own aggression that led to the downfall of McCullum and Anderson, while Taylor ticked along calmly, moving along solidly at his own pace, never in doubt.
West Indies weren't able to exert pressure to the extent they had on the second evening, when their specialist spinners Sunil Narine and Veerasammy Permaul bowled in tandem. Instead, Darren Sammy gave himself a spell of nine overs at the start of the day, bowling along side Narine. Permaul was introduced only some time after the first drinks break as West Indies worked with the old ball throughout the session.
While Sammy was steady and generated some reverse towards the end of his spell, the New Zealand batsmen were much more comfortable against his medium pace, and whatever pressure Narine exerted at the other end wasn't maintained for long enough.
McCullum himself handed West Indies the breakthrough in the eighth over of the day. The New Zealand captain backed way to cut a sharply turning and bouncing offbreak, found himself cramped for room, and edged for Sammy to take his third sharp catch of the innings, at slip.
Anderson had an extremely nervy start against Narine as he played tentatively, expecting the carrom ball almost every delivery. It took him 13 balls to get off the mark, but he soon gained enough confidence to play his powerful strokes.
He cut and pulled Narine for three boundaries in the 88th over as the bowler, into his 34th successive over and 12th of the morning, dropped it short. Anderson had scored 39 in a 50-run stand with Taylor when he swung Permaul straight to deep square leg in the next over.
New Zealand were still way behind at 224 for 5, and looked to the calming presence of Taylor again. The former captain carried on from the second evening, unruffled by the odd delivery misbehaving or by what was happening at the other end.
Even as Narine jagged the odd straighter one past the bat, Taylor handled the offbreaks superbly, playing late and softly. Just before lunch, Narine was finally given a break after a marathon spell of 36-14-81-3, including 14 overs in the session.
West Indies took the second new ball in the 99th over, immediately after lunch, and the change earned them the wicket of BJ Watling. The wicketkeeper went hard at a Sammy outswinger to nick behind for 20.
Taylor had reached his hundred in the previous over, cover-driving Tino Best for a couple of boundaries. He now responded by taking 20 runs off Sammy in the 105th over, cutting and lofting him for two fours and two sixes. He departed soon after, upper-cutting Best to third man on 131.
Neil Wagner and Tim Southee cut the deficit further but the tail could not survive too long against Narine, and he spun out the last three to end with figures of 42.3-17-91-6. He now has 18 from three Tests against New Zealand, with the second-innings shootout still left.
Taylor takes NZ to 349, Narine gets six
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Taylor takes NZ to 349, Narine gets six
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Taylor takes NZ to 349, Narine gets six
