Bowling after tea on day one to blame for defeat says Kiwi skipper
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori pinpointed the performance of his bowlers during the final session of the first day as the decisive passage in their second Test defeat against England.
Vettori's men, who were beaten by 126 runs in Wellington, reduced England to 136-5 after opting to bowl first.
But Tim Ambrose and Paul Collingwood then shared a sixth-wicket stand of 164 to allow England to recover and reach a first innings score of 342.
That was turned into an advantage of 144 by the tourists as New Zealand could only muster 198 all out in reply
And England eventually sealed a series-levelling win early on the final day when the Black Caps were out second time around for 311 in pursuit of a victory target of 438.
"I think that (Ambrose and Collingwood's partnership) is what we have reflected on quite a lot since then," Vettori told Sky Sports.
Poor bowling, good batting
"It was a pretty even Test match except for that third session on the first day when Ambrose and Collingwood took the game away from us - partly down to some poor bowling and partly down to some very good batting on their part."
Vettori insisted that he does not regreat asking England to bat after winning the toss: "I think 136 for five on the first day justified that.
The series decider starts in Napier on Saturday with Vettori well aware that the momentum is now with England.
"It's going to be tough," he added. "England will have regrouped and have found a couple of bowlers with a bit of enthusiasm.
"And they are into the game and we have got to make sure we can match it in the third Test."
