NZ vs IND 1st ODI: Kohli masterclass takes India home in a rain-affected match

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A youthful Indian pace attack headlined by the Gurnoor Brar dismantled New Zealand with steep bounce and high pace, setting up a comfortable five-wicket victory for the visitors in a rain-shortened first ODI on Wednesday. 

Facing an inexperienced seam lineup with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna unavailable due to injury recovery and workload management, India’s young pacers stepped up admirably to bowl out the Black Caps for 185 in 40.2 overs.

Standing at 6 feet 5 inches, Gurnoor (3/44 in 9.2 overs) justified skipper Shubman Gill‘s faith by troubling the host batters with pace and extra bounce, working in tandem with lead pacer Arshdeep Singh (4/70 in 10 overs). 

Arshdeep struck twice during the powerplay to restrict New Zealand to 45/2 in the first 10 overs. Gurnoor then tore through the middle order, taking a superb reflex return catch off his follow-through to dismiss Test captain Tom Latham.

Anshul Kamboj supported the duo superbly, turning in a tight spell of 2/22 in 10 overs that included an impressive 46 dot balls. New Zealand slumped to 109/5 at the halfway mark after Tim Seifert (38) mis-timed a Gurnoor short ball and Daryl Mitchell (28) was run out through a sharp combination effort by Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Lower-order batter Blair Tickner struck late boundaries off Arshdeep to push the home side past 180 before being bowled out.

Kohli’s 74 anchors DLS-adjusted chase

Set a revised DLS target of 143 in 32 overs following multiple rain delays, Virat Kohli celebrated his upcoming 38th birthday a day early by producing a masterful 74 off 51 deliveries. Kohli’s attack-minded knock featured 13 boundaries and a six, erasing the early loss of Rohit Sharma for a six-ball duck.

Kohli paired up with skipper Gill (37) to construct a match-defining 113-run stand for the second wicket. The former India captain showcased complete command, punishing Blair Tickner through the covers with punches and pull shots to seal the victory in 22.4 overs.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma departed for a six-ball duck. Shreyas Iyer scored 15 runs off 13 balls before getting out to Jacob Duffy.

India lead the 5-match series 1-0 after their win at Eden Park in Auckland.

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