India vs New Zealand 2017, 1st ODI: Virat Kohli Breaks Tendulkar’s Record But Kiwis Ace A Stiff Chase

The moment India vs New Zealand 2017, 1st ODI kicked off, everyone knew that a total of anything less than 300 won’t be an easy target to defend due to the plain surface that Wankhede offered, however, despite Virat Kohli’s record-breaking century in the first innings after winning the toss, New Zealand trumped the hosts by six wickets during their 281-run chase.

If we talk about the reasons behind India’s downfall, it was the middle order collapse and Trent Boult’s marvelous first spell which caused India the match. Moreover, Tim Southee’s tally of 10-73-3 meant that the hosts never gave a breather to the Virat Kohli-lead squad at Wankhede, gradually taking a 1-0 lead in the ODI series.

Shikhar Dhawan (9) and Rohit Sharma (20) failed to deliver as the opening pair while it was the latter’s choice of shots that left fans and collectors alike in shock. Virat Kohli (121) and Dinesh Kartik (37) tried to balance the first innings but other than the skipper, no one could put a break on the middle-order collapse, including MS Dhoni (25).

That said, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (26) did steal the show with his two maximums, one of which made the Indian slipper bow down to the tail-ender.

With around 30-40 runs short, it was the Indian bowling attack that had to put on a magic show because anything less than that wouldn’t have sufficed.

However, despite getting two early breakthroughs, Martin Guptill (32) and Colin Munro (28), and the New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (6) going back to the pavilion off Kuldeep Yadav’s spin, Ross Taylor (95) and Tom Latham (103*) stood strong in the middle for a 200-run partnership and took the visitors home with a 1-0 lead.

This result marked a brilliant start to the India vs New Zealand 2017 series, and the Virat Kohli-led side will have a lot of ground to cover up in the subsequent two ODIs in Pune and Kanpur.

Although the home team, as a whole, failed to deliver, India vs New Zealand 2017, 1st ODI marked Virat Kohli’s 200th ODI, and the skipper made sure of making the day special while breaking quite a few records en route the 125-ball-121.

Here are a few interesting statistics from the India vs New Zealand 2017, 1st ODI.

• Out of 12, Virat Kohli has only one unbeaten ton in the first innings of an ODI. However, he has a mind-boggling 12 not-out centuries in the second innings, out of 19.

• India vs New Zealand 2017, 1st ODI was the first instance of India losing a One Day International at home despite a century by Virat Kohli.

• Kohli also became the second player after AB de Villiers to score a ton during his 200th ODI appearance.

• The Indian skipper now has the second most number of centuries in ODI cricket (31).

• This was Kohli’s 13th home century in ODIs, leveling Ricky Ponting and Hashim Amla. Only Sachin Tendulkar (20) has more.

• Having played 200 ODIs, Virat Kohli has most runs, highest average as well as most centuries after as many matches in ODIs.

• Kohli has taken 192 innings to score his 31st ODI century while Sachin Tendulkar took 271.

• The Indian skipper also became the fastest batsmen to score 1000 ODI runs against New Zealand in 17.

• Virat Kohli now has 19 centuries in his name as a captain in international matches, leveling with Brian Lara and Michael Clarke, while Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith are only others to have more.

• Hardik Pandya, the sensational all-rounder, became the third Indian cricketer after Kapil Dev and Robin Singh to gather 500+ runs and 25+ wickets in a year in the 50-overs format.

• Tom Latham became the second NZ player to score an ODI ton while chasing in India.

• Ross Taylor has been a part of the second most number of century-stands (32) among New Zealand cricketers. Only Nathan Astle, 36, has been involved in more.

• Taylor and Latham recorded the biggest partnership by a New Zealand pair against India (200), the previous best being a 188-run stand between Ross Taylor and Scott Styris.

• 281 was the highest ever ODI chase by New Zealand against India, the previous highest being 279.

With the India vs New Zealand 2017, 1st ODI taking the series to 1-0 in visitors’ favor, Virat Kohli will have to come up with a dependable middle order and change his strategy of playing with as much as 7 batsmen to level the lead in the second ODI in Pune.