India vs New Zealand ODI: Kohli’s 74 seals five-wicket win in rain-hit Auckland

India opened the five-match one-day series in New Zealand with a five-wicket win at Auckland’s Eden Park on Wednesday, 4 November, getting to a rain-revised 143 with 56 balls left. Virat Kohli made 74 from 51 balls, and seamer Anshul Kamboj, named Player of the Match, conceded only 22 runs in his ten overs. India lead the India vs New Zealand ODI series 1-0.

Shubman Gill won the toss and sent New Zealand in. Arshdeep Singh removed both openers inside the first nine overs, and the home side never found a partnership that lasted. Daryl Mitchell fell to a run-out on 28, captain Mitchell Santner lost his stumps to Kamboj, and Glenn Phillips fell for 30 to leave New Zealand at 146 for nine.

The last pair then added 39. Blair Tickner, batting at No. 11, struck four sixes in a 34 before Gurnoor Brar ended the innings at 185 in the 41st over. Arshdeep finished with four for 70, Brar three for 44 and Kamboj two for 22. Tim Seifert top-scored with 38.

Kohli sets the pace through two rain breaks

The chase began badly. Kyle Jamieson had Rohit Sharma caught for a duck in the first over. Kohli and Gill then put on more than 100 for the second wicket, and the partnership carried India through two rain stoppages that cut the match to 32 overs a side and left India needing 143 by the DLS method.

Kohli reached his fifty from 35 balls and struck 13 boundaries and one six in all. The innings took him past Sachin Tendulkar as the leading run-scorer in ODI chases, with 8,741 runs against Tendulkar’s 8,720. Gill made 37 from 56 balls before Nathan Smith had him caught behind in the 19th over.

Jacob Duffy gave New Zealand a brief opening. He had Kohli caught in the deep on the leg side and sent Axar Patel back for nought in the same over, then removed Shreyas Iyer for 15. Duffy ended with three for 49. Naman Dhir and KL Rahul saw India home, and Dhir finished the match with a four off Smith.

India had taken the T20I series that preceded the ODIs 3-2. The second ODI is in Wellington on Saturday, 7 November, starting at 7.30 am IST.