The Blackcaps have claimed honours after the opening day of the first test against Bangladesh, restricting the hosts to 310/9 at Sylhet.
After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first in spin-friendly conditions, Glenn Phillips was the unexpected hero with the ball for New Zealand, returning figures of 4/53 with his part-time off-spin - after he was picked ahead of batting star Rachin Ravindra.
Phillips found valuable support in Ajaz Patel (2/76) and Ish Sodhi (1/71), as the spinners bowled 54 of the 85 completed overs on the first day.
The part-timer showed all his wares with the ball, running through Bangladesh's middle order and stifling the hosts' hopes of building a huge first innings score in conditions that will favour the slow bowlers on days four and five.
After spending more than a year out of whites with injury, Kyle Jamieson also gave a good account of himself on his return to test cricket, taking 2/52 from 17 overs, leaving captain Tim Southee as the only Blackcaps bowler to not take a wicket.
Phillips' efforts with the ball came at a vital time, as Bangladesh looked certain to pile on a huge first innings score at 180/2 before tea on the first day.
Opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy (86) was the only Bangladesh batter to pass 50, adding partnerships of 53 with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (37) and 88 with Mominul Haque (37).
Once Mahmudul fell to the bowling of Sodhi, the Blackcaps struck often to halt Bangladesh momentum.
After Bangladesh resumed the final session at 185/4, their highest partnership was just 28 between Nurul Hasan (29) and debutant Shahadat Hossain (24).
Picked as a batter who can offer overs to support the spinners, Phillips and his off-spin proved incisive for the Blackcaps and he will almost certainly return to the bowling crease when play begins on Wednesday, hunting for a maiden five-wicket haul.
The first test between these two sides also signals the beginning of the third cycle of the World Test Championship.
Bangladesh 310/9 (Mahmudul 86; Phillips 4/53) after day one
Watch live, free-to-air coverage of the first test between the Blackcaps and Bangladesh on ThreeNow or follow live updates on Newshub from 4pm
