Taylor shines as New Zealand beats India in record chase

Ross Taylor scored an unbeaten century as New Zealand notched its first victory against Virat Kohli's touring Indians, after suffering a 5-0 whitewash in the T20 series.

Ross Taylor hammered 109 not out off 84 balls as New Zealand beat India to go 1-0 up.

New Zealand defeated India by four wickets in the first one-day international in Hamilton on Wednesday, finishing the high-scoring match at four for 348.

Ross Taylor scored an unbeaten century as the Black Caps notched their first victory against Virat Kohli's touring Indians, after suffering a 5-0 whitewash in the Twenty20 series.

Earlier, Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India posted 347 for four.

As it happened |

Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton. Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.

Iyer’s knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul, he shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.

Debut openers

This was after Tom Blundell featured in his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal. It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe. Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls.

But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India was reduced to 54 for 2. Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).

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Rahul though didn’t let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours. But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.

Rahul’s carnage meant New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul.

Brief Score

New Zealand 348 for 6 (Taylor 109*, Nicholls 78, Latham 69, Yadav 2-84) beat India 347 for 4 (Iyer 103, Rahul 88*, Kohli 51, Southee 2-85) by four wickets