It is hard not to feel the loss of good players and on day two in Mount Manganui, New Zealand might well have wondered how things would've gone had Trent Boult and Tim Southee still been with them. For so many years, they shouldered the burden of leading this bowling attack and for so many years they were almost perfect.

West Indies still have to cope with scoreboard pressure but that was about all they had to do. The pitch is flattening out. At some point, the quicks will start going bouncers. Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips will hold up an end, maybe attack the footmarks. Batting won't be easy but it will also be far from hazardous. Time for Brandon King and John Campbell and the rest of their team to fill their boots. Time also for New Zealand's next gen to show what they're made of.

6:30pm: The day belongs to the home side but West Indies showed significant improvement and had a much better day. An interesting final session saw the West Indies openers do the needful, remaining unscathed with a 100-run stand. It's been a tough outing for the bowlers. Campbell is five short of fifty while King is marching on after reaching his half-century. Both batters have looked assured and confident, playing their natural strokes. There are no demons in the pitch so the duo will back themselves to build on this partnership and soar further tomorrow. Earlier, New Zealand declared at 575 for 8 after Conway and Latham piled on the misery for the visitors. Ravindra raced to 72 and remained unbeaten. New Zealand bowlers couldn't maintain consistent pressure when they asked the West Indies to bat following declaration, allowing the openers to settle in. Do join us tomorrow to see if the West Indies can show defiance once again or if New Zealand will come harder to make early incisions and push for a result. Hope you enjoyed our coverage on Day 2! On behalf of Alagappan Muthu, this is Rvel Zahid saying goodbye and goodnight!