India vs New Zealand, 1st ODI, New Zealand tour of India, 2026 - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

New Zealand made sure it was anything but easy for India. They showed real fight with both bat and ball - after a strong start, a middle-overs wobble threatened to derail them, but Daryl Mitchell’s composure guided them to a competitive total. With the ball, they kept coming back and dragged the contest all the way to the penultimate over. India, meanwhile, will reflect on this one knowing they could have been more clinical across all three disciplines - something they’ll be keen to put right in the second game on Wednesday. Do join us then. That's all from this game. Until next time, goodbye and stay safe..

Virat Kohli | Player of the Match: (How many PoTM awards does he have?) Honestly I have no idea. I just send the trophies back home to my mum in Gurgaon - she loves keeping them. (about him being the second highest run-scorer in international cricket) If I look back at my whole journey then it is nothing short of a dream come true for me. I have always known my abilities, but I also knew I had to work extremely hard to get where I am today. God has blessed me with far more than I could ever ask for, I look back at my journey with a lot of grace and gratitude, and I feel really proud of it. (was he thinking about his 54th hundred) If I am being brutally honest, the way I’m playing right now, I’m not thinking about milestones at all. If we were batting first, I probably would’ve gone harder. But in a chase, with a total on the board, I had to play the situation. I felt like hitting more boundaries, but experience kicks in. The only thing on my mind was getting the team into a position where we could win comfortably. (what has changed in his approach) The basic idea is I bat at number three, if the situation is tricky, I back myself to counterattack rather than just waiting around. Any ball can have your name on it, so there’s no point being passive. At the same time, you don’t play outrageous shots - you stick to your strengths. Today, when I walked in after Rohit got out, I felt if I pushed hard in the first 20 balls, we could put the opposition on the back foot. That ended up making the difference. (when the crowd cheers when he walks out to bat) It is all different timings happens at different games, I’m aware of it, and honestly, I don’t feel good about it. I’ve seen the same thing happen with MS as well. It’s not a great feeling for the guy walking back. I understand the crowd’s excitement, but I try to focus on what I need to do and not think too much about it. I’m extremely grateful. It’s a blessing, honestly. To give so much happiness to so many people just by doing what you love - playing the sport you’ve loved since childhood - what more can I ask for? I’m living my dream, and seeing people smile makes me happy.

Shubman Gill: Definitely, it felt really good to contribute in a chase. the most important thing is staying in the present. As a sportsperson, you have to focus on what’s in front of you and what the situation demands at that moment - that’s what helps you handle both the highs and the disappointments, that's what I try to do. The way he’s (Kohli) striking the ball at the moment makes things look so easy, even on a surface like this where it wasn't easy to start, he made it look easy. More about rotation, Arshdeep did well in the last series and Siraj wasn’t part of that, so we want to keep giving everyone opportunities as we build towards the World Cup, especially with not too many ODIs coming up. He (Washington) will be going for a scan, so we’ll know more once that’s done.

Michael Bracewell: We can be proud of our effort. We pushed the no. 1 team in the world right until the second-last over and put them under pressure, which is always pleasing. Of course, there are a few areas we’ll want to tidy up, and if we’d managed another 20 or 30 runs - something closer to 320 or 330 - it could have been a very different game. I wish he (Jamieson) could have bowled 15 overs, coming off an injury, to see him bowling the way he did today was a big positive for us. I thought our batting group showed plenty of experience and composure, he (Mitchell) has been doing it for a long time, If we’d just found a few more runs at the back end, we really could have made it interesting. We talk a lot about creating match-changing moments, and while we did some things well today, there were one or two chances we’d look back. Under lights in India it’s never easy, but we set ourselves very high standards and that’s something we’ll keep pushing.

Most PoTM awards in ODIs
62 - Sachin Tendulkar
48 - Sanath Jayasuriya
45 - Virat Kohli*
32 - Jacques Kallis
32 - Ricky Ponting
32 - Shahid Afridi

Virat Kohli in 300-plus successful chases in ODIs
Inngs: 12
Runs: 1091
Balls: 871
Avg: 121.22
SR: 125.25
100s/50s: 7/2

Most times five or more consecutive 50+ scores (ODIs)
5 - Virat Kohli*
2 - Quinton de Kock
2 - Kane Williamson
2 - Babar Azam

Most times successfully chasing a 300+ target (ODIs)
20 - India*
15 - England
14 - Australia
12 - Pakistan
11 - New Zealand / Sri Lanka

– New Zealand lost an ODI match after nine consecutive wins post Champions Trophy 2025.

– This is India's eighth straight victory over New Zealand in ODIs since 2023. At home venues, they have now won eight successive ODI games against them since 2017.

– This is the second-highest target successfully chased by India against New Zealand, behind 316 runs chased in Bengaluru in 2010

KL Rahul: I don’t think the pressure really came in during the last 4-5 overs. Harshit did a terrific job as soon as he walked in. He took a lot of pressure off me with the way he struck the ball, and suddenly the chase became much easier. I stayed pretty calm towards the end. We weren’t chasing too many - around 6-7 an over - and at this level, that’s something you’re expected to chase down 9 out 10 times. I didn’t know he (Washington) couldn’t run. I knew he had a bit of an injury in the first innings, but I wasn’t aware of the extent. That said, he was striking the ball really well. When he came in, we were already going at about a run-a-ball, so there was no need to take unnecessary risks. There wasn’t too much pressure on him. He rotated the strike, and did his job. Everyone who walked in contributed and that made the difference. (did the pitch change?) Not really. I thought it played pretty much the same throughout the 100 overs. The new ball was the best time to bat on this wicket. The way Rohit started with Shubman, and then the partnership between Shubman and Virat, set the tone perfectly. They scored quickly and found the right tempo. If we’d gone at 4-5 an over early on, the chase later could’ve been 7-8 an over, which is always tough. The wicket did get a bit slower later, but the top-order did their job and made it much easier for the lower-order batters. (New Zealand fighting till the end) Absolutely. Ravi Bhai you’ve been here - you know how many close finishes there have been against New Zealand over the last 7-8 years. They never give up, and they always find a way to stay in the contest. That’s what makes India–New Zealand such an exciting rivalry.

Then came the twist. Kyle Jamieson struck 3 times in the space of 7 balls, removing both Kohli and Iyer, and suddenly New Zealand were right back in the contest. With Washington injured, Harshit was sent in ahead of him and he played a handy little cameo that eased the pressure on Rahul. Even after Harshit’s dismissal, a hobbling Washington walked out to the middle, and together he and Rahul guided India home with an over to spare. New Zealand threw everything they had at India and pushed them all the way, but in the end, they just lacked that extra bit of firepower in the crunch moments. Hang around for the presentations..

21:35 Local Time, 16:05 GMT: What a fightback from New Zealand. They looked down and out when Kohli and Iyer were in full flow, and India seemed set to cruise home with plenty to spare. But you can never rule out this New Zealand side - even without a few of their regulars, they showed real grit and forced India to work hard for the win. Rohit got India off the mark but fell inside the powerplay, while Gill initially struggled against the new ball before finding his touch once Kohli joined him. India’s number 3 walked in with intent, took the attack to the bowlers and peppered the boundary, setting the tone for a 100-plus partnership with the skipper. After Gill’s dismissal, Shreyas Iyer continued in the same vein, building another solid stand with Kohli and keeping India firmly in control.