IND Vs NZ 1st ODI: India Take 1-0 Series Lead With 4-Wicket Win; Kohli's Purple Patch Continues

Hyderabad: The Men in Blue kicked off 2026 with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand at the Kotambi Cricket Stadium in Vadodara in the first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand. Run machine Virat Kohli continued his purple patch with a knock of 93 runs, becoming the Player of the Match.

India's chase of 301 suffered a blow as opener Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 26. However, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill added 118 runs from 107 deliveries for the second wicket. While Gill was out on 56, Kohli went on to add another crucial partnership with Shreyas Iyer (49) for the third wicket. Kohli played a knock of 93 runs from 91 deliveries and guided India to 234 before being dismissed.

India were cruising towards the target but Kohli's wicket shifted the balance and India suffered a collapse. From 234/3, they were reduced to 242/5 in quick time. However, Harshit Rana's quickfire 29 and KL Rahul's composed cameo helped India win the contest by four wickets.

After being put in to bat first, New Zealand openers Henry Nicholls (56) and Devon Conway (62) gave the team a steady start as they racked up 117 runs for the first wicket from 21.4 overs before the former was dismissed. A strong start had set a launchpad for the New Zealand batting unit, and the team was expected to post a huge total. However, they kept losing wickets from one end while Daryl Mitchell scored a valiant half-century. He played a knock of 84 runs from 71 deliveries with three sixes. His knock eventually helped the New Zealand post 300/8 as Kristian Clarke also provided some finishing touches with a knock of an unbeaten 24 runs from 17 deliveries.

Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna picked two wickets each. Skipper Shubman Gill stated during the toss that opting to bowl first was because of the dew factor, while New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell echoed the same sentiment, saying they would have bowled first as well.

Captain's statements at the toss

Shubman Gill - We will bowl first. Honestly, try different kinds of combinations, you know, see what combination suits us the best for different conditions, obviously, when we play in India. Whenever you're bowling second, there's a bit of a challenge with the dew, and so try out what kind of combination suits our conditions the best. It looks like a good wicket. Hopefully, I think it'll be a little bit easier to bat on in the second innings with the dew coming in, and that was the thought process behind bowling first.

Michael Bracewell - We would have bowled first, but happy to bat. We have been used to the weather and have had some great net sessions. It's a big series for us, a proud moment every time we play for New Zealand. We're playing a WC in India, and it's a big advantage for us.

Playing XI

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok.