Kohli and Kamboj star as India beat New Zealand in rain-hit first ODI at Auckland

A rain-hit win at Eden Park

India made a winning start to the five-match ODI series at Eden Park, Auckland, beating New Zealand by five wickets in a match repeatedly interrupted by rain. Captain Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bowl first, after rain had delayed the toss by ten minutes. New Zealand were bowled out for 185 in 40.2 overs, and India were set a revised target under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

The target was revised more than once as rain kept returning. After a long break, India were first given a target of 167 in 40 overs, which was later revised to 143 in 32 overs. India reached the target in 22.4 overs, losing five wickets, to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Kamboj's match-winning spell

Anshul Kamboj was named player of the match for a superbly controlled spell of two wickets for 22 runs in ten overs, including two maidens and 46 dot balls. Arshdeep Singh led the attack with four wickets for 70 runs in ten overs, while young pacer Gurnoor Brar picked up three wickets. Kamboj dismissed New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner for four and Nathan Smith for one, denting the hosts' attempts to rebuild.

Kamboj credited consistent line and length and the wobble-seam delivery for his success, saying after the match that the wobble-seam ball was working very well, so he used it again and again. He said he had focused on sticking to his basic plans rather than worrying too much about how the pitch was behaving, and on studying the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition batters.

Kohli anchors the chase

India's chase began badly, with Rohit Sharma dismissed for a six-ball duck by Kyle Jamieson in the first over, Mitchell Santner taking a diving catch at mid-off. Captain Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli then steadied the innings, adding a 53-run partnership for the second wicket before rain stopped play again with India at 54 for one in 10.5 overs.

After the restart, Kohli took control, scoring 74 off 51 balls before Jacob Duffy dismissed him. Duffy struck twice in one over to give New Zealand brief hope, and Shreyas Iyer was also dismissed by Duffy for 15, but by then India needed only seven runs to win. KL Rahul and Naman Dhir kept their composure to take India over the line.

The series from here

Tim Seifert was New Zealand's top scorer with 38 off 43 balls, while Glenn Phillips scored 30 and Daryl Mitchell made 28. The innings' late flourish came from number eleven Blair Tickner, who smashed 34 off 23 balls with four sixes and added a 39-run last-wicket partnership to lift New Zealand to 185.

India will now look to make it 2-0 in the second ODI, which will be played in Wellington on Saturday. New Zealand, meanwhile, will look to bounce back after being bowled out cheaply despite having piled up a large total in the fourth T20 match of the tour only days earlier, according to one report.

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