Auckland: Veteran batter Virat Kohli struck a commanding 74 off 51 balls following a disciplined collective show by the pace attack as India defeated New Zealand by five wickets in a rain-affected first One Day International (ODI) at Eden Park on Wednesday.

India’s pace attack of Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, and Anshul Kamboj produced a disciplined performance to bowl New Zealand out for 185 runs in 40.2 overs. In response, the visitors chased down a revised target of 143 in 22.4 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

India’s chase suffered an early setback when opener Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Kyle Jamieson in the opening over. However, Kohli joined skipper Shubman Gill to take control of the innings, with the duo building a match-defining partnership.

The chase was interrupted twice by rain, with the contest eventually reduced to 32 overs and India’s target revised to 143 runs. Kohli brought up his half-century after the second resumption, reaching the milestone off 35 deliveries with a powerful pull through mid-wicket in the 16th over.

The experienced batter continued to dominate New Zealand’s short-ball approach, striking 13 fours and a six. His innings also saw him surpass Sachin Tendulkar to become the highest run-scorer in ODI run chases, taking his tally to 8,741 runs compared to Tendulkar’s 8,720.

Gill provided steady support with 37 off 56 balls as the duo added a century partnership, marking their sixth 100-plus stand in 27 ODI innings together. New Zealand finally broke through when Nathan Smith had Gill caught behind in the 19th over.

Kohli kept India comfortably ahead of the required rate before Jacob Duffy dismissed him for 74, caught by Tim Seifert at deep backward square leg. Duffy struck again in the same over, removing Axar Patel for a duck, while Shreyas Iyer fell for 15 to give the hosts a late glimmer of hope.

KL Rahul and Naman Dhir ensured there were no further complications, with the latter pulling Nathan Smith through mid-wicket for a boundary to seal the victory.

Earlier, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh claimed four wickets, while Gurnoor Brar took three and Anshul Kamboj picked up two as India restricted New Zealand to a modest total.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 185 all out in 40.2 overs (Tim Seifert 38, Blair Tickner 34; Arshdeep Singh 4-70, Gurnoor Brar 3-44, Anshul Kamboj 2-22) lost to India: 143/5 in 22.4 overs [Target: 143 in 32 overs via DLS method] (Virat Kohli 74, Shubman Gill 37; Jacob Duffy 3-49, Nathan Smith 1-21) by 5 wickets.