Virat Kohli led India’s chase with a brilliant 74 as the visitors defeated New Zealand by five wickets in the rain-hit first ODI of the five-match series on Wednesday.
Kohli, who turns 38 on Thursday, looked in complete control during his stay at the crease. He scored 74 off 51 balls, registering his 80th half-century in ODI cricket.
India were set a revised target of 143 runs in 32 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method after rain interrupted play twice. Kohli and captain Shubman Gill then took charge of the chase, putting together 113 runs for the second wicket.
Gill contributed 37 runs before getting out, while Kohli continued to keep India on track. The visitors eventually reached 143/5 in 22.4 overs to seal a five-wicket victory, although they lost a few wickets towards the end.
Indian Pacers Bundle Out New Zealand For 185
Earlier, India’s fast bowlers made full use of the conditions at Eden Park. The overcast weather helped the pace attack, with Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Anshul Kamboj sharing nine wickets between them.
Arshdeep led the attack with four wickets for 70 runs, while Gurnoor picked up three wickets for 44 runs. Anshul also made an impact, finishing with figures of 2/22 as New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs.
The Indian bowlers kept the hosts under pressure throughout the innings and never allowed them to build a big partnership.
Tim Seifert And Glenn Phillips Offer Some Resistance
New Zealand opener Tim Seifert was the top scorer for the hosts with 38 runs. However, he could not convert his start into a bigger innings.
Glenn Phillips also tried to hold the innings together with a 30-run contribution, but the regular fall of wickets made it difficult for New Zealand to build momentum.
Blair Tickner provided some late entertainment with an attacking knock of 34 off just 23 balls. He smashed four sixes during his stay at the crease, but his effort was not enough to take New Zealand past the 200-run mark.
Brief scores
New Zealand 185 all out in 40.2 overs (Tim Seifert 38, Glenn Phillips 30, Blair Tickner 34; Arshdeep Singh 4/70, Gurnoor Brar 3/44, Anshul Kamboj 2/22) lost to India 143/5 in 22.4 overs (Virat Kohli 74; Jacob Duffy 3/49).