Bengaluru | Rain halted India's charge as Sarfaraz Khan's maiden unbeaten century and Rishabh Pant's brisk 53 not out took India to a strong position of 344/3, trailing by 12 runs on day four of the opening Test against New Zealand here on Saturday.

Sarfaraz picked from where he had left off on day 3 to bring up his maiden Test century, reaching 125 not out from 154 balls with 16 fours and three sixes.

On the other end, Pant, who copped a blow to his right knee while keeping the wickets on the second day and did not take the field on the third, returned to action and lifted India's spirits.

Pant was unbeaten on 53 off 56 balls with five fours and three sixes.

Brief scores: India 46 & 344/3 in 71 overs (Rohit Sharma 52, Virat Kohli 70, Sarfaraz Khan 124*, Rishabh Pant 53*; Ajaz Patel 2/100) trail New Zealand 402 by 12 runs.