Virat Kohli needed only 51 balls to remind everyone why he remains India’s most trusted chaser, steering a rain-shortened first ODI to a five-wicket win in Auckland.
Key Points
- India beat New Zealand by five wickets (DLS method) in the first ODI at Eden Park, Auckland, chasing a revised target of 143 in 32 overs.
- Kohli scored 74 off 51 balls, with 13 fours and a six, reaching his fifty in 35 balls; it was his 80th ODI fifty.
- New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs, with Arshdeep Singh taking 4 for 70, Gurnoor Brar 3 for 44 and Anshul Kamboj 2 for 22.
- India lead the five-match series 1–0; the second ODI is on 7 November.
A chase, interrupted twice
Rain, not New Zealand’s bowlers, was India’s main opponent. The hosts were bowled out for 185 — Tim Seifert top-scoring with 38 — and India’s target was first revised to 167 in 40 overs, then to 143 in 32 overs after a second interruption. Each restart demanded a reset, and each time Kohli provided it.
His partnership with Shubman Gill, who scored 37, was worth 113 for the second wicket and effectively settled the match. Kohli was eventually dismissed by Jacob Duffy, who took 3 for 49, with India at 124 — but KL Rahul and Naman Dhir completed the chase in 22.4 overs, with 56 balls to spare.
Records inside the innings
The knock carried milestones beyond the result. It was Kohli’s 50th score of fifty or more in away ODIs, a first in the format, and he became the first batter to score 13,000 ODI runs batting at No. 3. One report also credited him with passing Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in ODI chases — a reminder that, a day before his 38th birthday, Kohli is still rewriting the record books he once chased.
For New Zealand, the defeat was a rare home setback: their first defeat in the opening match of a home ODI series in 12 series, according to Cricbuzz. Their bowlers had moments — Duffy’s three wickets chief among them — but 185 was never enough on a ground where India, even interrupted, never looked hurried.
The series context adds to the win’s value. India arrived in New Zealand after a busy home season, and an away series win would carry weight beyond the points table. New Zealand, meanwhile, will look to their senior batters to respond: 185, on a ground where 250 is often par, left their bowlers with almost no margin for error.
What happens next
India take a 1–0 lead into the second ODI on 7 November, with the series now set up as a test of whether New Zealand’s batting can post a total their bowlers can defend. For Kohli, the question is simpler: how many more of these chases does he have left, and how many more records will fall along the way?