Overview
- Virat Kohli anchored a chase of 301 with 93 off 91 balls in Vadodara, giving India a four‑wicket win and a 1–0 lead over New Zealand.
- Kohli became the fastest to 28,000 international runs and moved to second on the all‑time list, while extending his run of consecutive 50‑plus ODI scores to five.
- Vice‑captain Shreyas Iyer said Kohli “walks the talk,” and Ravichandran Ashwin argued Kohli’s surge stems from clarity and enjoyment rather than technical changes.
- India ruled Washington Sundar out of the series with a side strain and called up Ayush Badoni, with the second ODI scheduled for Wednesday in Rajkot.
- Devdutt Padikkal reached 721 Vijay Hazare Trophy runs and became the first player with 700‑plus in multiple seasons as Karnataka advanced to the semifinals.