New Zealand believe stonewalling spinner Sunil Narine is the best way to counter the West Indies’ Test danger man.

Narine finished the first day of the first Test with three of New Zealand’s four scalps as the tourists reached 232-4 in Antigua.

The wickets of Martin Guptill for 97 and captain Ross Taylor for 45 came late in the day as bounce became unpredictable allowing Narine to underline his variety and class.

The offspinner was touted as the key figure in this two-Test series following his destructive displays in the one-day international series.

While his eventual figures of 3-73 off 27 overs were impressive, Taylor noted how frustrated he became in just his second Test.

“Red ball and white ball are totally different. Red ball and we don’t have to go after him, he has to come and get us,” Taylor said.

“It showed today that if you sit on him, he goes searching. He picked up a couple of wickets towards the end there but I thought the way we played him was very good.”

Narine put his initial struggles down to pitch conditions, defying Taylor’s assessment that it was treacherous for batsmen.

“I think it’s a very good wicket to bat on,” Narine said.

“Once you put down your head and bat, I don’t think it’s much of a problem, even when the bowlers stick to their line.

“We’re happy with the way (the first day) finished. The way New Zealand started, it could have been worse. We’ll take this and come out fighting tomorrow.”