India defeats New Zealand in Auckland as Virat Kohli sets records

India secured a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first ODI of a five-match series at Eden Park in Auckland. The match was impacted by repeated rain delays, which resulted in a revised Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target of 143 runs in 32 overs. India successfully chased the target with 56 balls remaining.

Virat Kohli led the Indian chase with a 74-run knock from 51 balls, including 13 boundaries and one six. During this innings, Kohli achieved several historic milestones: he became the first batter to score 13,000 ODI runs while batting at number three, surpassed Sachin Tendulkar for the most runs in ODI run-chases, and equaled Ricky Ponting for the most fifty-plus scores against New Zealand in ODIs.

Earlier, the Indian bowling attack restricted New Zealand to 185 runs in 40.2 overs. Arshdeep Singh claimed four wickets for 70 runs, while Gurnoor Brar took three wickets. Anshul Kamboj was named Player of the Match for his bowling figures of 2 for 22 in 10 overs. India now holds a 1-0 lead in the series, with the second match scheduled for Wellington.