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Why it matters
A win in the opening game puts India ahead in a five-match series, with a young pace attack doing the early work, and it came on a day when the top order lost Rohit Sharma at once. It also showed how much of the chase still rested on Kohli: when he fell at 124, India lost two more wickets before getting the last 19 runs.
India beat New Zealand by five wickets in the rain-hit India vs NZ 1st ODI (one-day international) at Eden Park, Auckland, on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, and lead the five-match series 1-0. Set a revised target of 143 in 32 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, India reached 143 for 5 in 22.4 overs. Virat Kohli made 74 off 51 balls, a day before his 38th birthday.
The bowlers set it up. Arshdeep Singh took four wickets, Gurnoor Brar three and Anshul Kamboj two as New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs, according to reports by the Indian Express, Times of India, India Today and the news agency ANI.
How Arshdeep, Brar and Kamboj bowled New Zealand out for 185
Arshdeep Singh removed both Will Young and Henry Nicholls for 9 inside the first ten overs, the Times of India and ANI reported. He later dismissed Kyle Jamieson and Glenn Phillips, who made 30 off 51 balls, to finish with 4 for 70.
Tim Seifert was New Zealand’s top scorer with 38 off 43 balls before Brar dismissed him. Brar then took a sharp return catch to send back Tom Latham for 3, leaving the hosts at 84 for 4, according to the Times of India. He finished with 3 for 44.
Kamboj gave away only 22 runs in his ten overs, with two maidens and 46 dot balls, and took the wickets of captain Mitchell Santner (4) and Nathan Smith (1). Daryl Mitchell was run out for 28 after quick work by Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper KL Rahul.
The Indian Express, in an earlier report on 4 November, said Kamboj’s economy rate of 2.20 equalled the best by an Indian fast bowler who completed ten overs in an ODI since 2005, going by its own table of such spells.
Blair Tickner then hit 34 off 23 balls with four sixes, the late hitting that took New Zealand to 185.
India vs NZ 1st ODI chase: Rohit’s duck, rain breaks and a DLS target
The chase began badly. Rohit Sharma chipped Kyle Jamieson to Santner at mid-off in the first over and was out for a six-ball duck, with India on 1 for 1, ANI reported.
Captain Shubman Gill and Kohli then took India to 54 for 1 before rain stopped play. When the players came back, the target had been cut to 167 in 40 overs. More rain followed after only a few balls, and the final revision left India needing 143 from 32 overs.
The table below shows how the target moved, using the scores reported by ANI and India Today’s live coverage.
| Stage of the chase | Target | Overs available | India’s score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of the chase | 186 | 50 | 0 for 0 |
| After the first rain break | 167 | 40 | 54 for 1 |
| After the second rain break | 143 | 32 | Chase resumed |
| Finish | 143 | 32 | 143 for 5 in 22.4 overs |
How Virat Kohli’s 74 took India past the DLS target
Virat Kohli survived a leg-before-wicket (LBW) appeal from Jamieson in the fifth over, ANI reported, and scored freely after the breaks, pulling the short ball from Tickner and Jamieson. His fifty was his 80th in ODIs, according to the Times of India and India Today.
He and Gill put on more than 100 for the second wicket. Gill made 37 before Nathan Smith dismissed him with India on 114 for 2 in the 19th over.
Jacob Duffy then made it tense. In the 20th over he dismissed Kohli for 74 and Axar Patel for a duck, leaving India 124 for 4. Duffy also dismissed Shreyas Iyer for his third wicket. KL Rahul and Naman Dhir saw India home, with Dhir hitting the winning boundary.
NewsPlainly’s calculation: 32 overs is 192 balls and India used 136 (22.4 overs), so they won with 56 balls to spare. Kohli’s 74 was 51.7% of India’s 143 runs. The DLS target needed about 4.5 runs an over; India scored at about 6.3.
Kohli passes Tendulkar for runs batting second, on India Today’s list
The innings also moved Virat Kohli past Sachin Tendulkar for the most ODI runs scored while batting second, according to a list published by India Today. Its figures put Kohli on 8,741 runs in 169 innings, against Tendulkar’s 8,720 in 232 innings, a gap of 21 runs.
India Today also gave Kohli an average of 66.21 when batting second, compared with 42.33 for Tendulkar, and 30 hundreds against Tendulkar’s 17. Rohit Sharma was third on its list with 6,801 runs. NewsPlainly has not checked these career totals against an official record, so they are given here as India Today’s figures.
India vs New Zealand ODI series: what comes next
The second ODI is in Wellington on Saturday, 7 November, the Indian Express reported, in line with the fixture list of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). All five matches start at 7.30 am IST under that list. Gill captains India in the first three games and Shreyas Iyer in the last two, as our report on the India ODI squad for the New Zealand tour explained.
| Match | Date | Venue | India captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | Wednesday, 4 November | Auckland: India won by 5 wickets (DLS) | Shubman Gill |
| 2nd ODI | Saturday, 7 November | Wellington | Shubman Gill |
| 3rd ODI | Tuesday, 10 November | Hamilton | Shubman Gill |
| 4th ODI | Friday, 13 November | Mount Maunganui | Shreyas Iyer |
| 5th ODI | Sunday, 15 November | Mount Maunganui | Shreyas Iyer |
The Wellington game is the second of five, so a New Zealand win there would make the series 1-1 with three matches left.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the India vs New Zealand 1st ODI?
India won by five wickets under the DLS method, reaching 143 for 5 in 22.4 overs at Eden Park, Auckland, on 4 November 2026.
What was India's DLS target in Auckland?
India started chasing 186. After rain it became 167 in 40 overs, and after a second break 143 in 32 overs.
Did Virat Kohli pass Sachin Tendulkar?
According to a list published by India Today, Kohli now has 8,741 ODI runs batting second, ahead of Tendulkar's 8,720.
When is the 2nd ODI between India and New Zealand?
On Saturday, 7 November 2026, in Wellington, starting at 7.30 am IST under the BCCI fixture list.