United News of Bangladesh

Virat Kohli struck 74 and Shubman Gill added 37 as India defeated New Zealand by five wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected opening match of their five-game one-day international series on Wednesday. Chasing New Zealand's 185, India reached a revised target of 143 in 22.4 overs, with 56 balls to spare. Kohli smashed 13 fours and a six during his innings, recording his 80th ODI half-century. It was also his sixth score of 50 or more in 10 innings this year, as he prepares to celebrate his 38th birthday on Thursday. His 113-run partnership with Gill proved decisive before Kohli departed with India's score at 124. K.L. Rahul and Naman Dhir then completed the chase. Rain delayed the toss by 20 minutes before interrupting India's innings again when the team was 56-1 in the 11th over. Rohit Sharma had been dismissed for a duck in the opening over. After the first interruption, India's target was revised to 167 from 40 overs. Another 30-minute delay reduced it further to 143 from 32 overs. Kohli accelerated after the second resumption, building a century partnership with Gill off 90 deliveries. Gill said the changing conditions made batting challenging but praised Kohli's contribution in making the chase easier. Earlier, India bowled out New Zealand for 185 in 40.2 overs after Gill elected to field. Arshdeep Patel led the attack with four wickets for 70 runs, while Gurnoor Brar claimed three for 44 and Anshul Kamboj took two for 22. Tim Seifert scored 38, Glenn Phillips made 30 and Daryl Mitchell contributed 28, but New Zealand struggled to build substantial partnerships. Tailender Blair Tickner provided late resistance with 34 off 23 balls, including four sixes, in a 39-run partnership with Jacob Duffy for the final wicket. India's senior players Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul and Kohli returned to the ODI lineup after missing the recent T20 series, which India won 3-2.