India opened the India Vs New Zealand ODI series by bowling New Zealand out for 185 at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday, a total that never matched the conditions or the stage of the match. New Zealand lasted 40.2 overs, and India did it with five bowlers, turning the first one-day cricket international into a one-sided start.
The spell that mattered most belonged to Arshdeep Patel, who took 4-70, with Gurnoor Brar adding 3-44 and Anshul Kamboj returning 2-22. New Zealand kept losing wickets in clumps. Will Young made 9 before edging Arshdeep Patel to Shreyas Iyer. Henry Nicholls also made 9 before hitting Arshdeep Patel to Naman Dhir. Tom Latham made 3 before being caught by Gurnoor Brar off his own bowling, and Mitchell Santner was bowled by Anshul Kamboj.
That mattered because Rohit Sharma, K.L Rahul and Virat Kohli had come back into the India lineup after bypassing the recent T20 series, which India won 3-2. The return gave India more experience in a match that was always likely to be judged by whether New Zealand could use home conditions at Eden Park to score quickly. Instead, the short straight boundaries and fast outfield could not rescue them.
Tim Seifert made 38 from 43 balls and Glenn Phillips added 30, but neither innings changed the rhythm for long. Daryl Mitchell made 28 before being run out by Rohit Sharma’s throw to K.L Rahul, and Nathan Smith made 1 before being caught one-handed by Virat Kohli off Anshul Kamboj. Blair Tickner then provided the sharpest late fight, scoring 34 from 23 balls and hitting four sixes in a 39-run last-wicket stand with Jacob Duffy, a burst that lifted New Zealand’s total without changing the outcome.
For New Zealand, the problem is simple after the opener: they did not get close to a defendable total even with the ground set up for scoring. For India, the first day of a five-match ODI series offered exactly what a touring side wants — control, wickets, and a margin that leaves the next match carrying more pressure for the hosts than for the visitors.
