first ODI: India hopes to continue their winning record against inexperienced New Zealand in the (preview)
first ODI: When India plays New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-match series on Sunday at the Kotambi International Stadium in Vadodara, all eyes will be on veteran and previous leaders Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma once again. Men’s internationals will return to the site for the first-ever men’s ODI match.
On December 4, 2010, India and New Zealand played their last men’s international match here, with current head coach Gautam Gambhir leading the Men in Blue with an incredible century.
After the most recent series against South Africa, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma—who have left the T20 and Test formats—will return to the field to play the BlackCaps, who have assembled a very inexperienced team for the series but are prepared to compete.
As the team’s penultimate ODI series before to the T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL), it may be Rohit and Kohli’s last time playing for India till July of this year.
Shubman Gill, 25, is expected to return as skipper of the ODI team for the first time after being excluded from India’s T20 World Cup selection. After missing the last ODI series against South Africa and losing the October assignment against Australia, he will be looking to win his first series as India’s ODI captain.
Devon Conway’s firepower will be crucial to New Zealand’s batting. Since 2023, the 34-year-old has amassed 527 ODI runs in India, giving him a solid record there. Another important player to keep an eye on is Daryl Mitchell, the World No. 3, who has been playing well in white-ball forms.
After their two outings each in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Virat and Rohit practiced for about an hour and a half on the eve of the match against Indian pacers, spinners, and throwdown specialists.
In internationals, the pair has been busy going back in time. Against South Africa, Kohli averaged an incredible 151 and is not in the mood to slow down. The top ODI batsman, Rohit, has amassed a respectable average of 52.9 against New Zealand since 2023.
After missing out on international cricket owing to a spleen ailment he suffered during last year’s tour of Australia, vice skipper Shreyas Iyer is expected to return and try to maintain his domination at No. 4.
The formidable Indian batting order will challenge the BlackCaps’ young pace attack. Kyle Jamieson, the team’s most seasoned bowler with 20 ODI caps, will be crucial to the visitors.
Since defeating to India in the 2025 Champions Trophy final, New Zealand has won nine consecutive ODI matches, putting them on a winning streak. India, the favorites going into the series, will want to continue their winning trend over the BlackCaps, having defeated them in their past seven ODIs.
When: 1:30 PM IST on Sunday, January 11
Where: Kotambi, Vadodara’s BCA Stadium
Where to watch: JioHotstar for live streaming and Star Sports Network for live TV broadcasts
Teams
India: Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul (w).
Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell (c), Zakary Foulkes, Nick Kelly, Josh Clarkson, Michael Rae, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Hay, Adithya Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Jayden Lennox, and Devon Conway (w) represent New Zealand.