The Blackcaps have dominated the first day of the second test against Bangladesh, reaching stumps at 349/1 at Christchurch's Hagley Oval.
A captain's innings from Tom Latham led the way for New Zealand, with the stand-in skipper batting through the entire day for 186 not out, and will return to the crease on Tuesday with his eyes on a second test match double-century.
Meanwhile, Devon Conway was denied the chance to score his third test hundred of his fledgling career, and will go to bed with 99 not out, missing the chance to reach three figures in the final over of the day.
The pair added an unbeaten 201 runs for the second wicket, and can add more runs to the scorecard when play resumes at Hagley Oval.
Against the same Bangladesh attack that had humiliated the Blackcaps at Mt Maunganui, and on a much friendlier surface for the bowlers, Latham and Conway have ensured that the Blackcaps are the stronger placed of the two sides, and will look to bat the tourists out of contention as they chase a series victory.
Losing the toss and being sent into bat first, Latham and opening partner Will Young (54) got the Blackcaps off to the ideal start, blunting Bangladesh's new ball attack and scoring with positive intent to take the attack to the opposition.
Latham was twice reprieved in the same over, given out lbw by umpire Wayne Knights for 16 and 18 respectively - only to successfully overturn both decisions.
Needing no second invitation to make a statement as New Zealand's captain, Latham batted on to reach a half-century before lunch, bringing up his 50 in 65 balls, with 10 boundaries.
And even after being asked to bat on a typical green seamer, Latham and Young negotiated the opening session perfectly, reaching lunch at 92/0.
After lunch, Bangladesh were clearly in a charitable mood, gifting Young 12 runs courtesy of overthrows, as a rare seven and five were both seen in the opening overs of the afternoon.
With that good fortune in the bank, Young passed 50 for the third time in as many innings, following his twin half-centuries in the first test at Mt Maunganui.
The right-hander raised his bat after 98 balls, as Young and Latham's opening partnership set a new Hagley Oval, bettering the 121 runs scored by Latham and Jeet Raval against Sri Lanka in 2018.
However, Young failed to convert his fifty into a maiden century, slicing Shoriful Islam to Mohammad Naim at point, out for 54 to the final ball before drinks in the afternoon.
But now joined by Conway, Latham pressed on to reach his 12th test century, bringing up three figures before the end of the second session.
Latham reached his hundred from 133 balls, his fastest, and went level with Brendon McCullum and John Wright on the list of New Zealand century makers. Only Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Martin Crowe have scored more hundreds for the Blackcaps than Latham.
And the New Zealand captain wasn't done there. Batting on after the tea break, Latham pushed on to reach 150, taking 199 balls, and at the same time raising his century stand with Conway for the second wicket.
Fresh from a first-innings century of his own at Mt Maunganui, Conway passed 50 again, taking 83 balls and showing off his array of sweeps and reverse sweeps against the spin of Mehidy Hasan, looking untroubled on this way to another half-century.
Conway's efforts also saw him become the first player in test match history to pass 50 in the first innings of each of his first five tests played.
And as he'd done with Young, Latham again added a record partnership on his home ground, as the second wicket stand with Conway ticked over the 123 runs between England's James Vince and Mark Stoneman.
As his partnership with Latham ticked past 150, and then 200, the only question would be whether or not Conway could join his captain on three figures.
The 30-year-old advanced into the 90s in what felt like no time, and had 98 by the time the last ball arrived.
But a single on the second ball saw Conway stranded at the non-striker's end for the final four balls of the day, and will resume on day two chasing yet another test match hundred.
Bangladesh meanwhile will need to return to the drawing board. Despite the bowler-friendly conditions on offer, only Shoriful Islam (1/50) tasted success in the wickets column, and was the only bowler to concede less than three runs per over.
And as Bangladesh seek their first test series win against New Zealand, Monday's play has almost certainly ensured that the Tigers will have to keep waiting for a few years to come.
Join Newshub for live updates of day two between the Blackcaps and Bangladesh from 11am Tuesday.
