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Kohli Stars as India Clinch Thrilling Four-Wicket Win Over New Zealand in 1st ODI

  • By Thetripurapost Desk, Vadodara
  • Jan 11, 2026
  • 528

Virat Kohli produced a masterclass while Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Harshit Rana made vital contributions as India edged past New Zealand by four wickets in the first ODI at Vadodara on Sunday.

Chasing a competitive target of 301, India completed the run chase in the penultimate over, finishing at 306/6 in 49 overs. A composed partnership between KL Rahul and Washington Sundar guided the hosts home after a tense middle phase.

India’s chase began cautiously with Rohit Sharma and Gill at the top. Sharma found his rhythm in the sixth over, pulling Zakary Foulkes for a six, and followed it up with another six and a four off Kyle Jamieson. The six off Jamieson marked Sharma’s 650th international six. However, Jamieson struck back in the ninth over, dismissing Sharma for 26 off 29 balls.

India ended the powerplay at 48/1 with Gill and Kohli steady at the crease. Kohli reached a historic milestone in the 13th over, smashing a four off Adithya Ashok to become the fastest batter to complete 28,000 international runs, achieving the feat in 624 innings.

The tempo picked up after the powerplay as India crossed 100 in the 17th over. In the 20th over, Kohli overtook Kumar Sangakkara to become the second-highest run-scorer in international cricket, behind Sachin Tendulkar.

Gill and Kohli both brought up their half-centuries, placing India firmly in control. Gill registered his fifth 50-plus score in 13 ODIs against New Zealand before Ashok broke the stand in the 27th over, dismissing him for 56.

Shreyas Iyer joined Kohli and counterattacked, smashing 15 runs off Ashok in the 31st over. Kohli, however, fell agonisingly short of a century, dismissed for 93 by Jamieson, who then removed Ravindra Jadeja for four in the same over.

Jamieson struck again in the 42nd over, cleaning up Iyer for 49 to bring New Zealand back into the contest. Harshit Rana was promoted up the order and played a crucial cameo, scoring 29 off 23 balls, while Rahul and Sundar calmly guided India to victory.

Earlier, New Zealand posted a competitive 300/8, built around a commanding 84 from Daryl Mitchell and half-centuries from Devon Conway (56) and Henry Nicholls (62). Conway and Nicholls laid a solid foundation with a 117-run opening stand before Harshit Rana removed both batters in quick succession.

Mitchell anchored the innings with a fluent knock before being dismissed late by Prasidh Krishna, while Kristian Clarke’s unbeaten 24 off 17 balls pushed the total to 300.

For India, Mohammed Siraj (2/40), Harshit Rana (2/65) and Prasidh Krishna (2/60) shared the bulk of the wickets.

Brief scores:
New Zealand 300/8 in 50 overs (Daryl Mitchell 84, Henry Nicholls 62; Mohammed Siraj 2/40)
India 306/6 in 49 overs (Virat Kohli 93, Shubman Gill 56; Kyle Jamieson 4/41)