India 302 for 6 (49 overs) beat New Zealand 301 for 8 by four wickets, Vadodara
India’s pursuit of 302 never felt entirely serene, yet Virat Kohli’s 93 from 91 balls – built on early intent and a 118-run stand with Shubman Gill – left just enough breathing space for the hosts to clinch the opening one-day international with an over to spare.
Rohit Sharma’s departure for 26 in the ninth over gave New Zealand a fleeting opening. Kohli closed it almost immediately, crunching six fours in his first 20 deliveries and dragging the required rate under control. “Well, the basic idea is I bat at No.3,” he explained after collecting his 45th ODI Player-of-the-Match award. “So if the situation is a bit tricky, I back myself to counterattack now rather than just trying to play the situation in because some ball has your name on it.”
Kyle Jamieson’s return spell briefly threatened a twist. The tall seamer removed Kohli and Hardik Pandya in the space of four balls, then added Ravindra Jadeja for good measure. At 258 for 5, the chase wobbled, but Gill’s 82, followed by handy nudges from KL Rahul, steadied things. Rahul’s clipped boundary off Matt Henry finally settled it, much to a packed Sunday crowd’s relief.
Kohli’s strike rate – and willingness to drive on the up – was the definitive difference. “I just felt like if I push hard now in the first 20 balls, then we can probably string in a partnership straight after a wicket like Rohit’s,” he said. “And that actually ended up being the difference in the game.”
Only Sachin Tendulkar (62) and Sanath Jayasuriya (48) sit ahead of Kohli in the ODI award list, a fact he greeted with measured satisfaction. “Honestly, if I look back at my whole journey, it’s nothing short of a dream come true for me,” he reflected. “I always look back … with a lot of grace and a lot of gratitude in my heart and I feel proud about it.”
Gill, now leading the side following Kohli’s retirement from Tests and T20Is, praised the senior man’s method. “I mean, at the moment, the way he’s batting, he’s just making batting so easy, especially on this kind of a surface,” Gill said. “It’s very hard to replicate how he’s batting … so hopefully he’ll keep piling on the runs for us.”
The second ODI is in Rajkot on 14 January. New Zealand will know that neutralising Kohli early is non-negotiable; India, meanwhile, may feel their most experienced one-day batter has already set the tone for the series.
