New Delhi: India defeated New Zealand by 5 wickets in the first match of the five-match ODI series at Eden Park in Auckland. Play was stopped repeatedly in the second innings due to rain, but this did not affect India's excellent performance with bat and ball. On the basis of Virat Kohli's inning of 74 runs, India won under the DLS method with 56 balls remaining.
First the pacers created havoc
Bowling first, the Indian pacers performed brilliantly in the middle overs. New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals. Opener Tim Seifert ran the scoreboard for some time, but was out for 38 runs. He was the highest run-scorer of the Kiwi team. After them, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips tried to create momentum for some time, but the Indian pacers remained dominant over them. Arshdeep Singh took 4 wickets, while Anshul Kamboj took 2 wickets for just 22 runs in 10 overs. With this, Kamboj joined Jasprit Bumrah in bowling the most economical spell by an Indian in ODIs in the last 10 years. Gurnoor Brar also got 2 wickets.
At one time New Zealand seemed limited to around 160, but number 11 batsman Blair Tickner did wonders in the last overs. He scored 34 runs in 23 balls with the help of 4 sixes and took the team to 185.
Kohli-Gill brought victory
The Indian team, which set out to chase the target, suffered a setback in the beginning. Senior batsman Rohit Sharma was out without opening the account on 6 balls. After this Kohli and captain Shubman Gill took charge. Both of them made a partnership of 113 runs and eliminated New Zealand from the match.
Kohli completed his half century in 35 balls and scored 74 runs. Gill contributed 37 runs. After Kohli's dismissal, Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer also quickly returned to the pavilion. Iyer scored 15 runs, which slightly delayed the victory. In the end, Naman Dhir and KL Rahul took charge and led India to victory. With this victory, India has taken a 1-0 lead in the series.