NZ vs IND 1st ODI Match Result: Kohli 74 Powers India to 5-Wicket DLS Win at Eden Park

India have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, winning the rain-affected first ODI at Eden Park, Auckland, by five wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Chasing a revised target of 143 in 32 overs, India reached 143/5 in 22.4 overs, with 56 balls remaining, after bowling New Zealand out for 185 in 40.2 overs.

Virat Kohli was the star of the chase with a blistering 74 off 51 balls, while Arshdeep Singh led India’s bowling effort with 4/70. The win also ends India’s long wait for an ODI victory on New Zealand soil, with the visitors having not won a 50-over game in New Zealand since February 2019.

NZ vs IND 1st ODI Result Summary: India Win by 5 Wickets (DLS)

Team	Score	Result
New Zealand	185 all out (40.2 overs)	—
India	143/5 (22.4 overs, DLS target 143 in 32 overs)	Won by 5 wickets (DLS), 56 balls remaining

India won the toss and elected to field first at Eden Park. New Zealand were dismissed for 185 in 40.2 overs, and rain during India’s chase saw the match reduced, with the DLS target revised to 143 in 32 overs. India, who were 54/1 in 10.5 overs when rain first stopped play, resumed and completed the chase in 22.4 overs.

New Zealand Innings: Seifert Top-Scores as India Pacers Strike Regularly

New Zealand’s innings never found fluency against India’s pace attack on a surface offering bounce and seam movement. Tim Seifert top-scored with 38 off 43 balls, hitting 3 fours and 2 sixes, but no other New Zealand batter passed 35. Glenn Phillips made 30 off 51 balls and Daryl Mitchell contributed 28, while a late flurry from No. 11 Blair Tickner, 34 off 23 balls with four sixes, lifted the hosts from 146/9 to 185.

Arshdeep Singh was India’s chief destroyer with 4/70 from his 10 overs, while Gurnoor Brar took 3/44 in 9.2 overs and Anshul Kamboj returned the remarkable figures of 2/22 from 10 overs, including two maidens. Only four New Zealand batters reached double figures, and the hosts lost all 10 wickets with 9.4 overs of their original allocation unused.

India Chase: Virat Kohli 74 Off 51 Balls Seals Eden Park Win

India’s chase began with an early blow, as Rohit Sharma fell for a six-ball duck to Kyle Jamieson in the first over. But Virat Kohli and captain Shubman Gill then took control, adding 113 runs together and keeping India comfortably ahead of the DLS par score.

Kohli, playing one day short of his 38th birthday, smashed 74 off 51 balls with 13 fours and one six at a strike rate of 145.09. It was his 80th ODI half-century, and during the innings he also passed Sachin Tendulkar’s tally for the most runs in ODI run chases. Gill supported him with a patient 37 off 56 balls, including five fours, before falling to Nathan Smith, caught by wicketkeeper Tom Latham.

Jacob Duffy gave New Zealand late hope with 3/49, dismissing Kohli in the 20th over and then removing Shreyas Iyer, who made 15 off 13 balls with one four and one six, in a dramatic spell. But with the revised target only 143, India had enough in hand. KL Rahul (3 not out off 5 balls) and Naman Dhir (5 not out off 3 balls) were at the crease when Dhir hit the winning boundary in the 23rd over, off Nathan Smith, to complete a five-wicket win.

NZ vs IND 1st ODI Scorecard: Top Scorers and Best Bowling Figures

Player	Performance
Virat Kohli (India)	74 off 51 balls, 13 fours, 1 six
Shubman Gill (India)	37 off 56 balls, 5 fours
Tim Seifert (New Zealand)	38 off 43 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes
Blair Tickner (New Zealand)	34 off 23 balls, 4 sixes
Glenn Phillips (New Zealand)	30 off 51 balls
Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)	28 off 41 balls
Arshdeep Singh (India)	4/70 in 10 overs
Gurnoor Brar (India)	3/44 in 9.2 overs
Anshul Kamboj (India)	2/22 in 10 overs, including 2 maidens
Jacob Duffy (New Zealand)	3/49 in 7 overs

Player of the Match: Anshul Kamboj’s Miserly Spell

CricketNews lists Anshul Kamboj as the Player of the Match for his exceptional 10-over spell of 2/22 at an economy rate of just 2.20, with 46 dot balls. Kamboj’s control at Eden Park squeezed New Zealand through the middle overs and set up India’s win, even though Kohli’s 74 was the standout batting performance of the match. Kamboj’s economy rate of 2.20 was also noted as the best by an Indian pacer since Jasprit Bumrah recorded the same economy against Zimbabwe in 2016.

Key Turning Points in the NZ vs IND Eden Park ODI

• India’s new-ball and middle-overs squeeze: Arshdeep, Brar and Kamboj shared nine wickets and never let New Zealand build a partnership, leaving the hosts 146/9 before Tickner’s late hitting.
• Rain changes the equation: With India 54/1 in 10.5 overs, rain reduced the match and set a revised DLS target of 143 in 32 overs, turning a 186-run chase into a much more manageable task.
• Kohli-Gill 113-run stand: After Rohit’s early duck, Kohli’s counter-attack and Gill’s calm support put India so far ahead of the par score that even Duffy’s late three-wicket burst could not change the result.
• Duffy’s late burst comes too late: Duffy removed Kohli and Iyer in quick succession, but India needed only a handful of runs by then, and Rahul and Dhir finished the job with 56 balls to spare.

What the NZ vs IND 1st ODI Result Means for the Series

India lead the five-match ODI series 1-0, a strong start to a series that forms part of both teams’ build-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup. For India, the win is significant for two reasons: it breaks the run of ODI defeats in New Zealand stretching back to February 2019, and it shows that a new-look pace attack without Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested for this series, can win away from home in testing conditions.

For New Zealand, the defeat is a reminder of how much they missed their injured first-choice players. Without Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Mark Chapman, the hosts’ batting folded for 185, and only Seifert and the lower order offered resistance. Captain Mitchell Santner will want a much stronger batting display in Wellington, where New Zealand must win to keep the series alive.

Our prediction pick was wrong: we had backed New Zealand to win the 1st ODI, expecting a high-scoring home win, but the rain-affected, low-scoring game went India’s way instead.

What’s Next: NZ vs IND 2nd ODI in Wellington

The second ODI of the five-match series will be played on Saturday, November 7, at Sky Stadium, Wellington. India will look to extend their lead to 2-0, while New Zealand will aim to level the series in front of their home crowd. For context on how this tour has unfolded so far, read our NZ vs IND 5th T20I result, where Tim Seifert’s 93 sealed a consolation win for the hosts as India took the T20I series 3-2, and the NZ vs IND 4th T20I result, when New Zealand’s record 259/7 at Eden Park denied India a whitewash.