Zimbabwe were121 for five at the close of day three.
Centuries from Ross Taylor and BJ Watling and a three-wicket haul from Trent Boult moved New Zealand closer to a huge win over Zimbabwe in the first cricket Test in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) on Saturday.
After Taylor scored an unbeaten 173 and Watling made 107 in a New Zealand total of 576 for six declared, Boult struck three times in six deliveries to send Zimbabwe crashing to 17 for four in their second innings.
Craig Ervine's unbeaten 49 helped the hosts recover to 121 for five at the close of day three at Queens Sports Club, but Zimbabwe still need 291 runs to make New Zealand bat again in the match.
While the first two days of the game had been distinctly one-sided, the third was even more brutal as Taylor and Watling added 253 for the sixth wicket for New Zealand, who went on to claim four Zimbabwean wickets in the first four overs of their reply.
The Black Caps lost nightwatchman Ish Sodhi in the second over of the day as they resumed on 315 for four, but that simply allowed Taylor and Watling to get on with their productive alliance. The pair hardly offered the Zimbabweans a sniff in the four hours that they were together, as Taylor brought up his 14th Test hundred and Watling registered his sixth.
They were finally parted five overs after the tea break when Watling pulled a short delivery to deep square-leg, and the dismissal led Kane Williamson to declare with a first-innings lead of 412.
"He told us to just be positive and bat with a little bit of intent," Taylor said of the captain. "You still have to respect the bowlers. We could have easily batted on a little longer but it was a good sign of his to declare when he did."
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