Sports Desk
11/12 January
Tv10 Punjab
India registered a confident four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first One Day International, thanks to strong batting performances from Virat Kohli, captain Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer. Chasing a competitive target of 301 runs, India reached 306 for 6 in 49 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Virat Kohli played a classy knock of 93 runs and missed out on a century by just seven runs. Captain Shubman Gill supported the chase well with a solid 56, while Shreyas Iyer scored an important 49 but fell short of his half-century by one run. Opener Rohit Sharma contributed 26 runs at the top of the order. Ravindra Jadeja had a brief stay, scoring only 4 runs.
Lower down the order, Harshit Rana added useful 29 runs, while Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 7. The winning runs came in dramatic fashion when KL Rahul smashed a six off the last ball of the 49th over. Rahul finished unbeaten on 29 to seal the victory for India.
Earlier, New Zealand posted 300 runs for the loss of eight wickets after opting to bat first. For the visitors, Kyle Jamieson was the standout bowler with four wickets, while Aditya Ashok and Chris Clark claimed one wicket each.