Ravindra and Mitchell added 123 for the fourth wicket.

New Zealand set themselves up for an excellent, come-from-behind victory in the Christchurch Test, a possibility that seemed beyond them after they were bowled out for 162 on the opening day. At the end of an absorbing third day's play, however, the Black Caps had edged into control although it can be said that the game is poised delicately enough to swing one way or the other. Set to chase 279 for a series-sweeping win, Australia were reduced to 34 for 4 before Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh counter-attacked their way to an unbeaten 43-run stand. The visitors need a further 202 runs for victory.

At the heart of the continued Black Caps resistance on the third day were Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and the fast-bowling pair of Matt Henry and Ben Sears. The hosts had been buoyed by their efforts on Saturday to drag back a game that had threatened to slip away rapidly from them and under easing batting conditions, continued to get back into the contest. Overnight half-centurion Tom Latham looked set for his maiden Test hundred against Australia before Pat Cummins got a delivery to cut back into the left-hander and found a feather edge to the 'keeper via the thigh pad.

Even after Latham was dismissed for 73, there was no panic as Ravindra and Mitchell quickly set about building the base for another big partnership. Both batters were excellent against the spin of Nathan Lyon with Mitchell using the relative positional comfort to showcase his wide range. He reverse-swept Lyon for a four and then chipped out of his crease to launch the master off-spinner over the long-on ropes. Ravindra was just as assured and got to his half-century with a straight-drive off Mitchell Marsh, who was brought into the attack rather belatedly by Cummins.

Wicket-taking with the old ball proved to be a challenge and on either side of the lunch interval, the Australian captain went through as many as eight bowlers. This included an over of Marnus Labuschagne bowling seam up and while it brought some comedic relief, the move almost paid off as Ravindra top-edged an attempted pull but the ball landed safe.

Eventually it was the second new ball that opened the gates once more for Australia. The batting pair negotiated the first few overs against it with Mitchell Starc proving to be slightly wayward but then Josh Hazlewood got a scrambled seam delivery to shape away late and had Mitchell edge behind for 53. It ended a 123-run association - the best for either team in this otherwise bowling-dominated series.

Cummins then came back into the attack and priced out Ravindra for 82 with his first ball back - a sharp back-of-length delivery that seamed away late with the left-hander already committed to play. Tom Blundell then threw his hands at a wide delivery from Cameron Green and hit it uppishly to cover where Labuschagne took a sharp catch. The fielder, however, was unable to hold on to another offering from Scott Kuggeleijn in the following Green over and the batter went on to make his reprieve count by racing away to 30 off 26 with a six each off Green and Starc.

At Tea, with a lead of 251 in the bank, the hosts appeared set to give Australia a target in excess of 300. But all that changed inside 30 minutes of the final session. Lyon ended the half-century stand between Kuggeleijn and Glenn Phillips by castling the latter. Henry then attempted one shot too many and holed out to long on. Cummins dismissed his opposite number, Southee, caught behind before Lyon grabbed his third by dismissing Kuggeleijn for 44 to bowl New Zealand out for 372.

Australia chased down a total in excess of 279 only last year at Edgbaston (282) but you'll have to go back to Johannesburg 2011 for the previous time they'd done so. The magnitude of their task was amplified by some excellent new-ball bowling. Steve Smith was caught on his shuffle and pinged on the pads by a Henry delivery seaming into him and adjudged LBW. Labuschagne survived a dropped chance but fell two balls later when he chipped a return catch to Sears. Henry then had Usman Khawaja nicking off to a superb catch in the slips from Southee before Sears found extra bounce to get Green to chop one on to the stumps.

At 34/4, Australia had slipped into rare territory, with a defeat to New Zealand now a strong possibility. But as ever, they lived to battle one another day and keep those old truisms alive thanks to a counter-attacking Mitchell Marsh, who hit four boundaries in his run-a-ball 27 and Travis Head.