Auckland, November 2026 : Veteran batter Virat Kohli produced a commanding 74 off just 51 deliveries after India's pace attack delivered an impressive performance to secure a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the rain-affected first ODI at Eden Park on Wednesday.
India chased down a revised target of 143 in 22.4 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Earlier, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Anshul Kamboj combined to bowl New Zealand out for 185 in 40.2 overs.
India's chase got off to a disappointing start when Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Kyle Jamieson in the opening over. Kohli then joined captain Shubman Gill at the crease, and the pair steadied the innings with a match-defining partnership.
Rain interrupted the contest twice, eventually reducing the match to 32 overs and revising India's target to 143. Kohli continued his aggressive approach after the second resumption, bringing up his half-century in just 35 balls during the 16th over with a powerful pull shot through mid-wicket.
The former India captain took on New Zealand's short-ball strategy, finding the boundary regularly with 13 fours and a six. His innings also saw him surpass Sachin Tendulkar to become the highest run-scorer in men's ODI run chases. Kohli's tally reached 8,741 runs, moving ahead of Tendulkar's previous mark of 8,720.
Gill provided valuable support, scoring 37 off 56 deliveries. The partnership between the two batters brought up their sixth century stand in 27 ODI innings together. New Zealand finally broke through when Nathan Smith had Gill caught behind in the 19th over.
Kohli continued to keep India comfortably ahead of the required rate but fell for 74 when Jacob Duffy dismissed him, with Tim Seifert taking the catch at deep backward square leg. Duffy struck again in the same over, removing Axar Patel for a duck. Shreyas Iyer also departed for 15, giving New Zealand a brief opportunity to put pressure on the visitors.
However, KL Rahul and Naman Dhir ensured there were no further setbacks. Dhir sealed the victory by pulling Nathan Smith through mid-wicket for four as India reached the target with five wickets and plenty of deliveries remaining.
Earlier, India's pace bowlers had exploited the movement and extra bounce at Eden Park to restrict the hosts to a modest total. Arshdeep led the attack with four wickets, while Brar claimed three and Kamboj picked up two.
New Zealand's innings featured contributions from Tim Seifert, who scored 38, and Blair Tickner, who added a late 34 off 23 balls. Glenn Phillips made 30, but the hosts struggled to build sustained partnerships against India's disciplined bowling.
Arshdeep finished with figures of 4-70, Brar returned 3-44, and Kamboj impressed with an economical 2-22 from his 10 overs, including two maidens. For New Zealand, Duffy took three wickets, while Smith claimed one.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 185 all out in 40.2 overs (Tim Seifert 38, Glenn Phillips 30, Blair Tickner 34; Arshdeep Singh 4-70, Gurnoor Brar 3-44, Anshul Kamboj 2-22) lost to India 143/5 in 22.4 overs (Virat Kohli 74, Shubman Gill 37; Jacob Duffy 3-49, Nathan Smith 1-21) by five wickets under the DLS method.
