Kohli's 74 and Kamboj's 2/22: India Beat New Zealand in Rain-Hit Auckland ODI

India beat New Zealand by 5 wickets (DLS) in the rain-hit first ODI at Eden Park, Auckland, on 4 November, chasing a revised target of 143 in 32 overs and finishing 143/5 in 22.4 overs. New Zealand had been bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs. India lead the five-match series 1-0. It was a win built the old-fashioned way in a shortened game: a disciplined bowling display first, then a chase led by Virat Kohli — the day before his 38th birthday — and finished with plenty to spare.

A rain-hit chase, settled early

Rain shaped the match from the start. New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs, and India were set a revised target of 143 in 32 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. India finished 143/5 in 22.4 overs — with more than nine overs to spare in the reduced game — to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

The margin, five wickets, flatters New Zealand slightly and flatters India slightly at the same time. India lost wickets along the way, but the target was never in serious danger once Kohli had set the pace. In a rain-shortened game, the side that bowls first and controls the total usually wins the argument, and India did both.

Kohli’s 74 — and a record in chases

Virat Kohli made 74 off 51 balls, with 13 fours and 1 six. It was his 80th ODI fifty, reached off 35 balls, and it came the day before his 38th birthday.

The knock also carried a record: Kohli passed Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-scorer in ODI chases. That is the context that makes a 74 in a shortened game more than a useful innings — it is another entry in the chase record that has defined Kohli’s one-day career, added on a wet night in Auckland.

Kamboj, the breakout name

Anshul Kamboj, 25, playing only his 2nd ODI, took 2/22 in 10 overs, including 2 maidens and 46 dot balls, and was named Player of the Match. Arshdeep Singh took 4/70 and Gurnoor Brar 3/44 as India’s pace attack bowled New Zealand out.

The figures are striking because of what came before them. Kamboj’s ODI debut last month, against West Indies, had gone for 82 runs in 9 overs without a wicket. In Auckland, in his second game, he bowled ten overs for 22 runs. That is a turnaround worth more than the wickets alone: control, in a rain-affected game, is what kept New Zealand from building a total.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said Kamboj’s spell could force the selectors to think about him for the 2027 World Cup. That is opinion, not a selection fact — no selection decision has been made — but it shows how quickly a single spell can change a young bowler’s standing.

What next

The 2nd ODI is in Wellington on Saturday, 7 November. India lead 1-0, and the question for Wellington is whether the young pace attack — Arshdeep, Brar and Kamboj — can repeat what it did in Auckland, and whether New Zealand can find a total that tests India’s chase.

For Kohli, the Auckland knock was a reminder, on the eve of his 38th birthday, that the chase record and the fifty count are still moving. For Kamboj, it was a first Player of the Match award in only his second ODI — and a very different second impression from his debut.