India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the first one-day international in Vadodara on Sunday, where the in-form Virat Kohli fell woefully short of his 54th ODI hundred.
The 37-year-old batting maestro, who had scored 376 in his last four ODI innings, anchored India’s chase of 301 with a sublime knock of 93 featuring eight boundaries and a six, but he was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson with a historic century within his reach.
The disappointment of the Vadodara crowd was palpable when their hero departed, but they stood to applaud Kohli, who took another milestone by becoming the second highest run-scorer in international cricket across all formats.
With his 77th ODI fifty, Kohli moved to 28,068 runs and overtook Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (28,016) to move behind Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar’s 34,357.
“If I look back on my entire journey, it’s nothing less than a dream come true for me,” Kohli said while cozying up to his mentor Tendulkar.
“I always knew my abilities, my abilities when I came in, and I had to work a lot harder to get where I am today. God has blessed me way too much for me to complain about anything.
“I always look back on my whole journey with a lot of grace, a lot of gratitude in my heart, and I’m proud of it.”
New Zealand openers frustrate India
Earlier, India had won the toss and opted to field, taking into account the dewy conditions for the second innings, but New Zealand openers Devon Conway (56) and Henry Nicholls (62) frustrated the hosts with a 117-run opening stand.
Harshit Rana provided the breakthrough, striking twice in consecutive overs to dismiss the first two openers and dampen New Zealand’s scoring rate.
The middle order failed to capitalize on promising starts, with only Daryl Mitchell making a significant contribution, while skipper Michael Bracewell was run out following a direct hit from Shreyas Iyer.
Mitchell battled his way to 84 with five boundaries and three sixes before being trapped in front of Prasidh Krishna while attempting another big shot. Kristian Clarke’s unbeaten 24 helped New Zealand add 50 runs in the last five overs to reach 300.
Kohli and Gill form partnership
India’s chase got off to a rocky start when opener Rohit Sharma fell for 26, but Kohli and captain Shubman Gill steadied the ship with a crucial 118-run partnership.
“I don’t think about milestones at all. If we had batted first today, I probably would have been stronger. Even with the chase, because there was a total on the board, I had to kind of buckle down and play the situation,” Kohli added.
Gill contributed a patient 56 but fell shortly after receiving treatment on his back before Jamieson (4-41) turned the match on its head with a devastating spell.
He removed Ravindra Jadeja at the same time as Kohli before bowling cleanly to Iyer for 49, his off stump being bowled as India collapsed to 242-5.
Enter Rana, who counter-attacked brilliantly and was lucky to survive a dropped catch at long-off when he was on 12. He made New Zealand pay, scoring 29 before being caught behind, keeping India in the hunt.
With pressure mounting and India needing to maintain a running pace, KL Rahul kept his cool to guide the hosts home with an unbeaten 29, sealing victory with two fours and a six in the penultimate over.
The win gives India a 1-0 lead in the series ahead of the second match in Rajkot on Wednesday.
