{"id":6154,"date":"2026-01-12T12:04:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/2026\/01\/12\/kohlis-93-gills-56-power-india-to-nervy-four-wicket-win-over-new-zealand-in-1st-odi\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T12:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:04:28","slug":"kohlis-93-gills-56-power-india-to-nervy-four-wicket-win-over-new-zealand-in-1st-odi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/2026\/01\/12\/kohlis-93-gills-56-power-india-to-nervy-four-wicket-win-over-new-zealand-in-1st-odi\/","title":{"rendered":"Kohli\u2019s 93, Gill\u2019s 56 Power India to Nervy Four-Wicket Win Over New Zealand in 1st ODI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virat Kohli reigned supreme once again with a fluent 93 off 91 balls<\/strong>, while skipper Shubman Gill struck 56<\/strong>, as India survived a late scare to notch up a four-wicket victory over New Zealand<\/strong> in the opening ODI of the three-match series here on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Chasing 301<\/strong>, India appeared firmly in control before a sudden collapse injected drama into the contest. The hosts eventually crossed the line at 306 for 6 in 49 overs<\/strong>, but not before New Zealand threatened an unlikely comeback.<\/p>\n

Kohli fell agonisingly short of what would have been his 54th ODI century<\/strong>, departing in the 40th over with India needing 67 runs from 66 balls and seven wickets in hand. His dismissal triggered a wobble as Ravindra Jadeja (4)<\/strong> and Shreyas Iyer (49)<\/strong> followed soon after, opening the door for the visitors.<\/p>\n

However, KL Rahul (29 not out)<\/strong> held his nerve, adding a crucial 37-run stand with Harshit Rana (29)<\/strong> before guiding India home alongside an injury-hit Washington Sundar (7 not out)<\/strong>. New Zealand were also let down by a couple of uncharacteristic dropped catches in the closing stages.<\/p>\n

It was Kyle Jamieson (4\/41)<\/strong> who spearheaded New Zealand\u2019s fightback, dismissing Kohli with a catch at mid-on and removing both Iyer and Jadeja to briefly tilt the momentum.<\/p>\n

Despite missing out on a century, Kohli achieved a major milestone during his knock, becoming the fastest batter to reach 28,000 international runs<\/strong>, overtaking Kumar Sangakkara and moving behind only Sachin Tendulkar<\/strong> on the all-time list.<\/p>\n

With New Zealand fielding a depleted bowling attack, Kohli dominated from the outset, unfurling a series of crisp drives and authoritative boundary shots. He was particularly severe on young leg-spinner Adithya Ashok<\/strong>, who bore the brunt of Kohli\u2019s fluent strokeplay.<\/p>\n

There was an element of luck too, as Kohli survived an inside edge off debutant Kristian Clarke<\/strong> that narrowly missed the stumps. Alongside Gill, he stitched together a pivotal 118-run second-wicket partnership<\/strong>, calmly controlling the chase even during a boundary drought of 52 balls.<\/p>\n

Gill brought up his 16th ODI half-century<\/strong> but appeared to struggle with cramps as the innings progressed. After receiving on-field treatment, he fell attempting to force the pace, holing out to mid-off for a 71-ball 56<\/strong>, which included three fours and two sixes.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s chase began cautiously before Rohit Sharma (26)<\/strong> took charge early, smashing a few trademark sixes to bring up 650 sixes in international cricket<\/strong>. However, Jamieson outfoxed him in the ninth over as Rohit miscued a big hit.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Daryl Mitchell<\/strong> anchored New Zealand\u2019s innings with a commanding 84 off 71 balls<\/strong>, rescuing his side after a strong opening stand faded. Openers Devon Conway (56)<\/strong> and Henry Nicholls (62)<\/strong> had put on 117 runs<\/strong> for the first wicket, laying a solid platform.<\/p>\n

India clawed back through Harshit Rana (2\/65)<\/strong>, whose second spell turned the tide as New Zealand slipped from 117 without loss to 198 for five<\/strong>. Mitchell then forged vital partnerships, while debutant Clarke chipped in with a brisk 24 not out<\/strong> at the death to take New Zealand to a competitive 300 for 8<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Brief scores:<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Zealand 300\/8 in 50 overs (Devon Conway 56, Henry Nicholls 62, Daryl Mitchell 84; Harshit Rana 2\/65, Mohammed Siraj 2\/40, Prasidh Krishna 2\/60)<\/p>\n

India 306\/6 in 49 overs (Virat Kohli 93, Shubman Gill 56; Kyle Jamieson 4\/41)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Virat Kohli reigned supreme once again with a fluent 93 off 91 balls, while skipper Shubman Gill struck 56, as India survived a late scare to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,23,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6154","post","has-post-thumbnail","category-international","category-national","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/channel1.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}