Virat Kohli misses 100 by seven runs but guides India to a easy 4-wicket win against Kiwis

Virat Kohli scored 93 runs against New Zealand in Vadodara ODI

India vs New Zealand 1st ODI Highlights: The Men in Blue started the 2026 calendar year on a positive note by defeating New Zealand in the first ODI match in Vadodara. Team India led by Shubman Gill defeated Blackcaps by 4 wickets and 6 balls to spare. Even though Indian cricket fans celebrated the win, it was a bit sad to see their favorite star Virat Kohli miss out on an ODI ton. Meanwhile, Team India took a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series against the Kiwis. Check out the detailed match report of the first ODI match between India and New Zealand.

To throw

Indian captain Shubman Gill tossed the coin and the result was in favor of India. He decided to bowl first against the Kiwis.

First Strikes

Batting first, New Zealand got off to an excellent start as both openers played a 100-plus run partnership for the first wicket; this is the first time a Kiwi opener has achieved the feat since 1999. Both openers Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls also went on to score half-centuries of their own. Following their dismissal, Daryl Mitchell struck powerfully with 84 off 71 balls to take his side to a respectable big total against the home team. In the end, the visitors posted 300/8 in 50 overs.

Second Strike

Chasing 301, India got off to a slow start in the first five overs. But Rohit soon shifted gears and hit a couple of maximums against the visitors. However, his innings did not last long and he was dismissed in the 26th over of the Powerplay. Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill then added over 100 runs for the second wicket and reached the 150-run mark in the 26th over. In fact, both batsmen had scored half-centuries by then but Gill was dismissed on 56. After that Shreyas Iyer came out and partnered Kohli for a 50-over score.

Vadodara International Cricket Stadium fell silent after Virat Kohli was dismissed at the age of 93, missing his century. Iyer was dismissed soon after too, missing the half-century by a single run. It was KL Rahul and Harshit Rana who tried to end the game after 45 overs, but Rana was dismissed on 29 off 23 balls in the death overs. Finally, KL Rahul ended the game in style by scoring two boundaries and a six off the last three balls of the 49th over. India won the first ODI in the 3-match series by 4 wickets and 6 balls to spare.

Player of the Match

No need to guess, yes, Virat Kohli is the Player of the Match with 93 off 91 balls.