Photo: Collected
Riding on Virat Kohli’s blistering 74, India beat New Zealand by 5 wickets in the first of the five-match ODI series at Eden Park in Auckland. Shubman Gill’s side reached the DLS target with 164 balls to spare.
Indian captain Gill won the toss and chose to bowl first, and the team’s pacers proved the decision right. Superb bowling by Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Anshul Kamboj saw New Zealand bowled out for just 185 in 40.2 overs.
As rain reduced the length of the match, the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method was applied. In reply to New Zealand’s 185, India’s target was set at 143 runs in 32 overs. The visitors sealed victory by scoring 143 for 5 in just 22 overs.
For the hosts, Glenn Phillips made 38 and Blair Tickner contributed 34. Had it not been for a 39-run last-wicket stand between Tickner and Jacob Duffy, New Zealand could have been dismissed for even less. Arshdeep Singh took the most wickets, 4 for 70 in 10 overs. Gurnoor Brar took 3 wickets and Anshul Kamboj 2.
India were confident from the start of the chase. Captain Shubman Gill made 37 off 56 balls. But the storm came from Kohli — a brilliant 74 off 51 balls with 13 fours and a six, at a strike rate of 145.1. Shreyas Iyer made 15.
Kohli also shone in the last ODI series against the West Indies. In the first match of that series he played a superb unbeaten 139 off 88 balls, and made 29 in the second. In the third match, however, he was out for a one-ball duck. His total in the three matches was 168. Keeping up that rhythm, the star batter fired against New Zealand too.
With this win, Team India went 1-0 up in the five-match series.
By the numbers
According to ESPNcricinfo statistics, of the 45 ODIs between the two sides on New Zealand soil from 1976 to 2022, New Zealand won 26 and India 14; one was tied and four produced no result.
At a glance
According to the schedule published in an Outlook India report on 3 June, the remaining four ODIs of the series are on 7 November in Wellington, 10 November in Hamilton, and 13 and 15 November at Mount Maunganui. The 12-match tour, running from 22 October to 1 December, also includes five T20Is and two Tests.
Sources
Background sources: ESPNcricinfo, 4 November 2026; Outlook India, 3 June 2026
