The Blackcaps are staring down the barrel of a huge defeat and 1-0 test series loss to India, after day three of play at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Chasing 540 runs for victory and with two full days left to play, New Zealand reached stumps at 140/5, needing another 400 runs for what would serve as one of test cricket's most improbable wins.
The Blackcaps could slip to their biggest-ever test loss in terms of runs, currently standing at a 358 runs against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2007.
Should New Zealand lose their final five wickets for 42 runs or fewer, this Mumbai defeat would serve as the Blackcaps' new worst.
Batting at No.3 in place of the injured Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell put up the only score of substance in their second innings, scoring 60 runs from 92 balls, as the rest of the top order wilted against India's spin attack.
Earlier in the day, Ajaz Patel took a further four wickets to go with Saturday's historic 10-wicket haul, giving him the best match figures of any bowler against India, 14/225.
But after eclipsing Sir Richard Hadlee's 9/52 in Brisbane, Ajaz finished one wicket short of New Zealand's best match figures, Hadlee's 15/123.
Henry Nicholls (36 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (two not out) survived to the close, and will resume on day four in need of a miracle.
For India, Ravi Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers with 3/27 from 17 overs, backed up by Axar Patel's 1/42.
Entering day three with a lead of 322 runs, India picked up where they left off the night before and pressed their advantage home even further.
Opener Mayank Agarwal reached 50 for the second time in the match, after his first innings score of 150. Agarwal added 107 for the first wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara, but became the 11th Indian batter to fall to Patel, out for 62, when he tried to clear long-off.
Four overs later Pujara departed for 47, when he edged to Ross Taylor at slip, as Patel's 12th wicket.
Combining for 82 runs with captain Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill denied Patel the chance to take all 20 Indian wickets in the match, when he chipped straight to Tom Latham at short cover, giving Ravindra his maiden test scalp.
Thanks to some brilliant work from Tom Blundell behind the stumps, Patel had his 13th wicket, when Shreyas Iyer was stumped for 14 at 211/4, taking the left-armer level with Sir Ian Botham (13/106) for the best bowling figures against India.
Seeking his first century in any format since 2019, Kohli made it to 36, before becoming Ravindra's second wicket, dragging a short ball back onto his stumps. Ravindra had a third, when Wriddhiman Saha holed out to Kyle Jamieson for 13.
At 238/6 and ahead by 501 runs, India managed one last hurrah, as Axar Patel launched a lower-order blitz to push his side towards a declaration.
Fresh from a maiden test 50 in the first innings, he struck 41 not out from 26 balls, including four sixes and three fours to lift India's lead even higher.
At 276/6, with Kohli preparing to declare, Jayant Yadav chipped a return catch straight back to Ajaz Patel, giving him a 14th wicket and the best test figures of any bowler against India.
Yadav's wicket was enough for Kohli, who declared the innings at 276/7 to set New Zealand 540 runs for victory.
Opening the batting, Latham was the first New Zealander dismissed, falling leg before wicket to Ashwin for six.
Will Young and Daryl Mitchell combined for 32 runs, both impressively using their feet to the spin, but at 45/1, Ashwin struck again, as Young inside-edged onto his thigh pad and the ball dropped into the hands of Suryakumar Yadav.
Batting at No.4, Ross Taylor looked all at sea against India's spin attack and was twice beaten on the inside attempting to drive. In trouble against Ashwin, the 37-year-old reverted to a slog sweep across the line, with the ball taking the top edge of the bat and landing in Pujara's hands.
Taylor's departure saw Nicholls join Mitchell and the pair added 73 runs together for the fourth wicket. Mitchell pushed on to his half-century, taking 76 balls, with seven boundaries and one six.
As Axar Patel returned late in the day's play, Mitchell welcomed the left-armer with a six over long-off, but fell one ball later attempting the feat again, skying the ball to the hands of Jayant Yadav at deep cover. Mitchell departed for 60, just two runs shy of New Zealand's entire first innings total.
Blundell came and went for a six-ball duck, run out, after being sent back by Nicholls, diving in vain, as sub fielder KS Bharat's throw found him short of his ground.
Ravindra joined Nicholls, as the two batted out 49 balls together until the close, but merely delaying the seemingly inevitable.
The pair will resume on day four, but with New Zealand not scheduled to play again until facing Bangladesh on New Year's Day at Tauranga, their year could finish with arguably one of their worst defeats so far.
Join Newshub for live updates of day four of the Blackcaps v India from 5pm Monday.
