Kohli's 74 leads India to five-wicket win over New Zealand in rain-hit first ODI

India beat New Zealand by five wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the first one-day international at Eden Park, Auckland, on Wednesday, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Virat Kohli made 74 from 51 balls as India reached a rain-revised target of 143 in 32 overs with 56 balls to spare.

The win was set up by a young pace attack. After captain Shubman Gill chose to field, Arshdeep Singh took 4 for 70 and Gurnoor Brar three wickets, and New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs. Anshul Kamboj, named player of the match, took 2 for 22 from his ten overs, with 46 dot balls, according to scorecard reports.

New Zealand's innings

New Zealand never settled. Arshdeep removed Will Young and Henry Nicholls early and later Glenn Phillips, who made 30 from 51 balls. Tim Seifert top-scored with 38 from 43 balls, Daryl Mitchell was run out for 28, and Brar dismissed Seifert and Tom Latham, the second with a return catch. Kohli took a diving one-handed catch at second slip to remove Nathan Smith, Outlook India reported.

At 146 for nine, New Zealand looked set for a smaller total, but Blair Tickner hit four sixes in 34 from 22 balls in a last-wicket stand of 39. Axar Patel bowled four overs for 9 runs.

Coverage of the match noted that Kamboj's 22 runs conceded were the fewest by an Indian bowler bowling a full ten overs in a men's ODI since 2016. Gill said after the match that Kamboj was well suited to New Zealand's conditions and praised the bowling of Kamboj and Brar, according to post-match reports.

The chase

Rain interrupted India's reply. India first faced a target of 186; that was reduced to 167 in 40 overs, and finally to 143 in 32 overs, according to the BCCI's revised target as reported by Outlook India.

Rohit Sharma was caught by Mitchell Santner off Kyle Jamieson for a six-ball duck in the first over. Kohli and Gill then added 113 for the second wicket. Kohli hit 13 fours and a six, reaching his fifty in 35 balls, before he was caught by Seifert off Jacob Duffy in the 19th over. Gill made 37 from 56 balls before he was caught behind off Nathan Smith.

Duffy took two wickets in three balls, removing Kohli and then Axar for a duck, and later had Shreyas Iyer caught to leave India at 136 for five. The remaining runs came without further loss, and India finished on 143 for five in 22.4 overs.

Why it matters

India arrived in New Zealand after taking the T20 series 3-2, despite losing the last two matches heavily. The ODI side is without Prasidh Krishna, who withdrew from the series before it began and was replaced by Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi. Wednesday's win came with three young seamers, Arshdeep, Kamboj and Brar, sharing nine wickets, in a series that ESPNcricinfo described as part of both teams' preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

What happens next

The second ODI is in Wellington on Saturday, 7 November, starting at 3 pm local time (7.30 am IST).