Virat Kohli stole the show with another stupendous batting display as his impressive 93 off 91 balls went a long way in India winning the game despite having jitters in the latter part of the game. Virat Kohli looked good from the start and took the attack to the opposition to take the pressure away from Shubman Gill. The Indians put New Zealand into bat first, and Daryl Mitchell led the way with his 84 while Henry Nicholls and Devon Conway also played well for his half-centuries as New Zealand posted 300/8 in 50 overs.
In reply, India rode on Virat Kohli’s stupendous 93 off 91 balls alongside Shubman Gill’s half-century while Shreyas Iyer scored a good looking 49. In the end, when things got tense, Harshit Rana scored a useful 29 while KL Rahul finished things off in style with his 29 off 21 balls unbeaten and sealed the game with the maximum over deep midwicket. Kyle Jamieson picked up 4 wickets for New Zealand but they went down fighting in the end.
All-Round Batting Display led by Daryl Mitchell Powers New Zealand to 300/8
Put into bat first, Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls came out to open the batting for New Zealand while Mohammed Siraj had the ball in hand for India. The openers took their time initially before pressing on the accelerator. They were aided by poor Indian fielding as Henry Nicholls got a reprieve when batting on 4 as Kuldeep Yadav dropped a sitter in the third man region. The Kiwis made India pay as New Zealand got off to a steady start in the powerplay.
The Black Caps were 49/0 in 10 overs at the mandatory powerplay and they carried on by playing the ball to the merit. Nicholls was dropped by Washington Sundar off his own bowling while Sundar misjudged a catch at deep backward square leg by coming in as the ball went over him for the maximum as Conway got a lifeline. Both the batters completed their century stand for the first wicket and their respective fifties as well. The duo batted for more than 20 overs and put on 117 for the first wicket before Nicholls fell for 62 off 69 balls with 8 fours to his name to Harshit Rana.
Will Young came out to bat next. Just 9 runs were more added for the second wicket before Conway fell to Rana yet again as he chopped the ball onto the stumps. The ever-dependable Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next. Young and Mitchell added 20 runs to the score with both getting a little bit of a start before Young fell for 12 off 16 balls to Siraj. Glenn Phillips walked out to bat next. Phillips came and hit a boundary off Jadeja.
The duo tried to put on a partnership and added 24 runs for the 4th wicket before Phillips fell for 12 off 19 balls to Kuldeep Yadav with one four to his name. Keeper batter Mitchell Hay walked out to the middle next. Hay looked impressive in his brief stay and took on the bowling from the start. He tried to relieve the pressure off Mitchell. The duo for the fifth wicket added 28 runs before Hay fell for 18 off 13 balls with 2 fours to his name to Prasidh Krishna.
Captain Michael Bracewell came out to bat next. Bracewell began to compliment Mitchell who took the role of the main accumulator and switched gears a little bit. Bracewell also tried to keep the tempo going and the duo added 39 for the 6th wicket. Bracewell was looking good but he was run out for 16 off 18 balls with one four to his name as Iyer effected a brilliant run out. Zak Foulkes came out to bat next.
Foulkes did not hang around for long as he too fell for 1 off 2 balls to Siraj who cleaned him up. Mitchell meanwhile had completed his half-century and looked good to give the finishing kick. Kristian Clarke came out to bat next. Mitchell soon teed off and tore apart the Indian pacers. Prasidh Krishna in particular was taken to the cleaners by him and so was Harshit Rana. No bowler even the spinners went for a bit as Mitchell looked in the zone and Clarke supported him really well on his ODI debut.
The duo added a valuable 41 runs for the 8th wicket with Mitchell doing most of the damage before Mitchell was trapped in front LBW to Prasidh Krishna for 84 off 71 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Kyle Jamieson joined Clarke in the middle. The duo added a valuable 19 runs in the last 2.2 overs to propel the score to 300/8 in 50 overs. Clarke on debut remained unbeaten on 24 off 17 balls with 3 fours to his name while Jamieson played a useful knock of 8 off 8 balls with one four to his name. New Zealand ended with 300/8 in 50 overs with 7 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a mixed day for the Indian bowlers and the fielders. Mohammed Siraj finished with 2/40 in 8 overs. Harshit Rana finished with 2/65 in 10 overs. Prasidh Krishna finished with 2/60 in 9 overs. Kuldeep Yadav finished with 1/52 in 9 overs. Washington Sundar finished with 0/27 in 5 overs and went off the field with back issues. Ravindra Jadeja finished with 0/56 in 9 overs. There was a run out in the innings as well. This meant that India needed 301 to win off 50 overs for a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Virat Kohli’s stupendous knock takes India over the line in a nervy chase
Chasing 301 for the win, Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill came out to bat for India while Kyle Jamieson had ball in hand for New Zealand. India too started watchfully and then slowly accelerated. Gill was passive while Rohit was the aggressor of the two. Rohit took the extra risks. The duo put on 39 for the first wicket before Rohit fell for 26 off 29 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Jamieson. Virat Kohli came out to bat next.
Kohli was quickly off the blocks and took the pressure off Gill who was under some pressure. This was Kohli at his best. Gill too found his rhythm. The duo of Gill and Kohli also named Prince and King showed their class with Kohli being the aggressor while Gill got himself in. Kohli got past his half-century and so did Gill. The duo put on 118 runs off 107 balls. Gill looked good for his 56 off 71 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name before he was dismissed by Adithya Ashok.
Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next. Iyer then joined forces with Kohli. The duo put on 77 for the third wicket before Kohli who generally converts his fifty into a hundred, could not go on with it. He fell 7 short of what would have been another hundred in the chase. But he fell for 93 off 91 balls with 8 fours and one six to his name as Jamieson had another.
Ravindra Jadeja came out to bat and India suddenly after the wicket of Virat Kohli collapsed and lost three wickets in quick succession. Just 5 runs were added to the score now before Jadeja fell for 4 off 5 balls to Jamieson. KL Rahul came out to bat next. Rahul could hardly settle down as after 3 more runs were scored when Iyer fell for 49 off 47 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Jamieson. India were suddenly 242/5 in 41.1 overs.
Harshit Rana came out to bat to join Rahul in the middle. Rana rode his luck as Daryl Mitchell dropped a sitter at long-on. But he played a crucial hand while Rahul was happy playing second fiddle. Rahul took the singles while Rana was using the long handle. The duo of Rahul and Rana put on 37 for the 6th wicket with Rana scoring bulk of the runs. But Rana soon fell while going for the swing leg side and got the outside edge off Kristian Clarke. Injured Washington Sundar came out to bat next.
Runs came in singles initially as the batters could rotate the strike easily. Then, Sundar got a lifeline as Ashok dropped a tough chance at short fine leg. But he was taking the singles as Rahul was also happy doing the same. Then, Rahul in the 49th over took matter into his hands as he hit two boundaries in a row and in true MS Dhoni style finished things off in style with a maximum over deep midwicket as India got over the line by 4 wickets with an over to spare. Rahul remained unbeaten on 29 off 23 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name while Sundar remained unbeaten on 7 off 7 balls. 13 extras given by the fielding side as India finished with 306/6 in 49 overs.
New Zealand tried their best and fought hard till the end. Kyle Jamieson was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/41 in 10 overs. Adithya Ashok finished with 1/55 in 6 overs. Kristian Clarke finished with 1/73 in 10 overs. Zak Foulkes finished with 0/49 in 10 overs. Michael Bracewell finished with 0/56 in 8 overs. Glenn Phillips finished with 0/21 in 4 overs. Daryl Mitchell bowled an over for 7 runs. So, India win by 4 wickets with an over to spare. Virat Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, India are 1-0 up in the 3-match series. The bandwagon moves from Vadodara to Rajkot as the Niranjan Shah Stadium will host the 2nd ODI on Wednesday 14th January 2026 at 1:30 PM IST. We will see whether India seals the series there or whether New Zealand fights back and levels the series. We have seen a thriller to start the series and we expect more of the same in Rajkot.
Also Read: IND vs NZ: Daryl Mitchell’s Explosive Knock Powers New Zealand To 300/8