India bowl New Zealand out for 185 in Auckland ODI opener before rain halts chase at 54 for 1
India's bowlers dismissed New Zealand for 185 in the first one-day international at Eden Park, Auckland, and the visitors had reached 54 for 1 when rain stopped play in their chase of 186.
India made a strong start to their one-day international series in New Zealand, bowling the hosts out for 185 in the opening match at Eden Park, Auckland, before rain interrupted the chase.
After captain Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to field, India dismissed New Zealand in 40.2 overs. The visitors were 54 for 1 after 10.5 overs when rain forced the players off, leaving them needing a further 132 runs from 39.1 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The start of the match had already been delayed by rain, but conditions improved and sunshine returned to Eden Park before the first ball. Gill's decision to bowl first was rewarded quickly, with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh providing the early breakthrough by dismissing Will Young in the fifth over.
New Zealand never fully recovered. Tim Seifert top-scored with 38 from 43 balls, while Glenn Phillips made 30 and Daryl Mitchell added 28, but regular wickets kept the hosts from building a substantial partnership.
The innings briefly came alive late on through Blair Tickner, who struck 34 from just 23 deliveries, including a burst of boundaries that lifted New Zealand towards a more competitive total. Gurnoor Brar eventually ended that resistance, caught by Rahul, to leave the hosts all out for 185.
Arshdeep led India's attack with four wickets for 70 runs from his ten overs, a performance that placed him among the leading Indian pace-bowling figures in New Zealand. Brar took three wickets, while Anshul Kamboj finished with two for 22 from ten overs in a disciplined spell.
One of the moments of the innings came in the 29th over, when Virat Kohli took a one-handed catch at slip to dismiss Nathan Smith for just one from nine balls. At that stage New Zealand were reeling at 115 for 7, and only Tickner's late hitting spared them a still smaller total.
India's chase began steadily. Kohli was unbeaten on 29 from 27 balls, including five fours, while Gill was on 17 from 32 balls when rain stopped play. The interruption raised the prospect of a revised target under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method if further overs were lost, with calculations suggesting a target of 167 in 40 overs if ten overs were lost, 137 in 30 overs if twenty were lost, and 92 in 20 overs if thirty were lost.
The series continues with further one-day matches before the tour moves towards its later stages, with the fifth and final one-day international scheduled for Tauranga on November 15 and the first Test due to begin in Wellington on November 19. For now, though, India hold the initiative in Auckland, having restricted a strong home side to a modest total and made a composed start in reply.
New Zealand, meanwhile, will reflect on a batting display that lacked a decisive partnership. Seifert's start, Phillips's contribution and Tickner's late flourish were bright spots, but the loss of early wickets and the middle-order collapse left them defending a total well below what Eden Park usually demands.
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