Vadodara, Jan 10
All eyes will once again be on stalwarts and former captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma when India take on New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Kotambi International Stadium in Vadodara on Sunday. The venue is set to host its first-ever men's ODI game, and the match will mark the return of men's internationals at the venue.
The last men's international game played here was also between India and New Zealand when the two sides squared off on December 4, 2010, and current head coach Gautam Gambhir stood out for the Men in Blue with a magnificent century.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have quit the T20 and Test formats, will take the field again after the recent series against South Africa -- taking on the BlackCaps, who have formed a rather inexperienced squad for the series but are ready to challenge.
The series could very well be Rohit and Kohli's final appearance in Indian colours until July this year, as it's the team's last ODI series before the T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The series will mark Shubman Gill's first assignment since being left out of India's T20 World Cup squad, with the 25-year-old set to return as captain of the ODI team. He will be chasing his first series win as India's ODI captain, having been ruled out of the previous ODI series against South Africa and losing the assignment against Australia in October down under.
New Zealand's batting will rely heavily on Devon Conway's firepower. The 34-year-old has a strong record in India, scoring 527 ODI runs there since 2023. Daryl Mitchell is another key player to watch, as the World No. 3 has been in excellent form in white-ball formats.
On the eve of the match, both Virat and Rohit put in lengthy practice sessions, spending close to an hour and a half facing Indian pacers, spinners, and throwdown specialists, following their two appearances each in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The duo has been busy turning back time in internationals. Kohli averaged a whopping 151 against South Africa and is in no mood to slow down. Rohit, meanwhile, is the No. 1 ODI batter and has a hefty average of 52.9 against New Zealand since 2023.
Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is set to make a comeback after being ruled out of international cricket due to a spleen injury he sustained during the tour of Australia last year, and will look to continue his dominance at No. 4.
As for the BlackCaps, their inexperienced pace attack will be put to the test against the strong Indian batting lineup. The visitors will rely hugely on Kyle Jamieson, who is the most-experienced pacer in their squad with 20 ODI caps.
New Zealand are on a winning streak in ODIs, having won nine straight games since losing the 2025 Champions Trophy final to India. However, India, who will enter the series as favourites, have won their last seven ODIs against the BlackCaps and will look to extend the streak.
When: Sunday, Jan 11, 1:30 PM IST
Where: BCA Stadium, Kotambi, Vadodara
Where to watch: Star Sports Network for live TV broadcast and JioHotstar for live streaming
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja
New Zealand: Devon Conway(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
- IANS
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