Kohli's 74 leads India to five-wicket DLS win over New Zealand in Auckland

Kohli turns a stop-start chase into a procession

India beat New Zealand by five wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the first one-day international at Eden Park, Auckland, on 4 November 2026, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs, and after two rain interruptions left India a revised target of 143 in 32 overs, the tourists reached 143 for five in 22.4 overs, with 56 balls to spare. The second ODI takes place in Wellington on Saturday, 7 November 2026.

Young pacers bowl New Zealand out for 185

India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to field under grey skies, and his bowlers justified the decision. Arshdeep Singh struck early, removing Will Young and Henry Nicholls with short-pitched deliveries, and New Zealand never recovered a steady rhythm. Tim Seifert, back in the side and dropped on seven, top-scored with 38 off 43 balls, but Gurnoor Brar ended his resistance and also dismissed Tom Latham. Daryl Mitchell, run out for 28 after a misunderstanding with Glenn Phillips, was another soft dismissal in a fragile innings.

Anshul Kamboj then produced the most economical spell of the day, taking two wickets for 22 runs in 10 overs, including 46 dot balls, and was named player of the match. He bowled Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand captain, and had Nathan Smith caught by a diving Virat Kohli at slip. Phillips made 30 off 51 balls while running out of partners, before Arshdeep, who finished with four for 70, removed him. Only a last-wicket stand of 39 runs between Blair Tickner, who smashed 34 off 23 balls with four sixes, and Jacob Duffy, 15 not out, carried New Zealand past 180. They were still bowled out with 9.4 overs unused, with Brar taking three for 44.

Kohli and Gill rebuild after Rohit's duck

India's chase began badly. Rohit Sharma was caught by Santner at mid-off off Kyle Jamieson for a six-ball duck in the opening over. Kohli walked in at number three and, with Gill, rebuilt patiently before accelerating. The pair added 113 runs off 104 balls for the second wicket, Gill contributing 37 off 56 balls, and by the time they were parted India needed only 29 more runs.

Rain shaped the chase throughout. Play was interrupted for the first time with India on 55 for one, and they returned needing 167 from 40 overs, only for a second stoppage after seven more deliveries to reduce the contest to 32 overs and the target to 143. Kohli, undeterred by the breaks or the extra bounce that troubled other batters, reached his fifty in 35 balls, his 80th in one-day internationals, and finished with 74 off 51 balls, including 13 fours and one six. He repeatedly punished short-pitched bowling through the leg side, turning the delivery that dismissed so many others into a scoring option.

Two records fall inside one innings

The innings carried two landmarks. Kohli became the first batter in one-day international history to score 13,000 runs while batting at number three. During the same chase he moved past Sachin Tendulkar to become the leading run-scorer in ODI run chases, taking his tally to 8,741 runs against Tendulkar's 8,720. Both records were confirmed in multiple reports after the match, and together they framed an innings that was about far more than one rain-shortened evening in Auckland.

A late wobble, then the finish

New Zealand briefly threatened a contest at the death. Gill top-edged a pull off Nathan Smith, and Duffy then removed Kohli, caught by Seifert at deep square leg, and Axar Patel for a duck in quick succession, finishing with three for 49. India had lost three wickets for 10 runs in 11 deliveries, but the damage came too late. Shreyas Iyer struck Duffy for six before falling for 15, and Naman Dhir sealed the win with a pulled boundary, with KL Rahul unbeaten alongside him.

For New Zealand, missing Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Mark Chapman, the defeat ended a run of 12 successive opening-match wins in home ODI series, a sequence last broken by India in January 2019. The hosts will need far more from their batting in Wellington, where the series resumes on Saturday, while India will take confidence from a young pace attack that out-bowled its more experienced opponents and a number three who, one day short of his 38th birthday, still decided a match on his own terms.