This is India's first win across formats in New Zealand since 2009.
Mohammed Shami is the Man-of-the Match for his spell of 6-2-19-3.
Ambati Rayudu hits the winning run and India wins the first ODI by eight wickets.
146/2. India needs just 10 runs in 100 balls to complete an easy win over New Zealand. Ambati Rayudu and Shikhar Dhawan are taking leisurely steps toward the target. Nothing to fret over for India.
Virat Kohli perishes. He is caught behind for 45 (59 balls) and India is 132/2, needing just 24 more runs to win the match. Ambati Rayudu joins Shikhar Dhawan.
An inside edge saves Virat Kohli. Tim Southee seemed to have got his man but Kohli went for the review and a spike on the snicko has forced the umpire to change his decision.
Shikhar Dhawan gets to a 50. It is his 26th ODI 50. The southpaw also went past the 5000 run mark.
We have a reduction in overs. It will be a 49-over chase and the target is revised to 156.
The match is back on after the sun played some tricks.
Sun stops play after dinner. Sounds bizarre? But this is what happened in the first India-New Zealand ODI at the McLean Park on Wednesday.
Play was interrupted when the sun made it difficult for the batsmen to spot the ball, leading to an interruption.
The decision to halt play was taken keeping the players’ safety in mind and sun stroke considerations, on-field umpire Shaun George said.
Stoppages due to sun have been witnessed in the past here during the dometic competitions, and reportedly also in few English grounds.
“We had talked about it in the pre-series chat. It’s something different,” said New Zealand star batsman Ross Taylor.
Normally, the cricket pitches are positioned in the North-South direction to avoid this scenario, but at McLean Park, the pitch is East-West facing.
“We are trying to find out ways to deal with this problem,” said Napier’s mayor Bill Dalton while talking to official broadcaster Star Sports.
Chasing 158, India was cruising at 44 for one in 10 over when play was stopped.
New Zealand won the toss and have opted to bat
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
On a high after a defining tour of Australia, Virat Kohli-led India faces a trickier challenge when it locks horns with an ever-so-sprightly New Zealand in a five-match ODI series starting Wednesday.
India, which has shifted its focus entirely on World Cup preparations, is still searching for the right middle-order combination despite its first-ever bilateral ODI series win on Australian soil. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s hat-trick of half-centuries has brought joy to the dressing room but the smaller grounds in New Zealand against a better seam attack comprising the wily Trent Boult, the talented Lockie Ferguson and the relentless Tim Southee will be a different test altogether.
New Zealand has always been a force to reckon with in its own backyard and the touring Indian teams over the years will testify that, having won only 10 out of 35 ODIs, including a 4-0 drubbing during the last series in 2014.
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