Australia reached stumps on 72-0 in pursuit of the 241 victory target set by New Zealand on day three of the second Test at Hobart.
Hosts require a further 169 runs to wrap up series win
Australia reached stumps on 72-0 in pursuit of the 241 victory target set by New Zealand on day three of the second Test at Hobart.
On another day dominated by the bowlers, New Zealand collapsed from 139-3 to 226 all out in their second innings - James Pattinson (3-54), Peter Siddle (3-66) and Nathan Lyon (3-25) taking all seven Black Caps wickets to fall.
An unbroken 72-run partnership between openers Dave Warner and Phil Hughes then made Australia favourites to wrap-up a 2-0 series win at the Blundstone Arena.
Warner reached the close well set on 47 not out, with Hughes unbeaten on 20.
Dangerous
Disciplined bowling and sharp catching saw Australia claw their way back into the match by removing the New Zealand tail cheaply at the start of day three.
Promising seam bowler Pattinson continued his impressive start in Test cricket, removing the dangerous Ross Taylor for 56 and undoing Dean Brownlie (21) with a sharp, short delivery that tailed in towards the right hander and was snapped up by Brad Haddin after ballooning off the former West Australian's thumb.
Siddle also continued his impressive return to form and was rewarded for consistent line and length with the wickets of Kane Williamson (34) and Reece Young (9).
The Young dismissal reduced the tourists to 190-7 on the stroke of lunch and exposed a lower order that has proved brittle so far this series.
After some lusty blows, Tim Southee was the fifth Black Cap wicket to fall, caught in the deep by Mike Hussey off Lyon's bowling and Doug Bracewell followed two balls later, bowled by the South Australian off-spinner.
Lyon took his third wicket when he had Trent Boult caught in the deep to close the New Zealand innings.
Hughes and Warner then took to the middle with the former under particular scrutiny following his recent run of poor form.
Confidence
Australia received an early slice of luck when New Zealand captain Taylor opted not to review a not-out decision from umpire Asad Rauf when it appeared Hughes may have gloved the ball onto his hip and through to wicketkeeper Young.
While the bowlers managed to extract some swing early, the regular sideways movement that had been so evident during the first two days was not forthcoming, allowing the Australian openers to settle into their work during the shortened evening session.
Both players peppered the cover boundary and took full toll of any width from the New Zealand attack in a sign their confidence was returning.
Warner was particularly damaging, scoring more freely than Hughes, and reaching the boundary eight times to move within three runs of his maiden Test half-century.
