Iyer's maiden ODI ton goes in vain, hosts record first win of India tour

Hamilton: Young batsman Shreyas Iyer's maiden ODI hundred went in vain as New Zealand defeated India by four wickets in the series-opener, here on Wednesday.

Producing a commanding batting performance, India posted a competitive 347 for four but seasoned Ross Taylor anchored the Kiwi chase with an unbeaten 109-run knock.

The hosts overhauled the stiff target with 11 balls to spare with the Indian bowlers struggling badly despite having a big total to defend. It was New Zealand's first win since India landed in the country with the hosts suffering a humiliating whitewash in the five-match T20 series.

The Kiwis were quite comfortable in their chase but lost wickets of Tom Latham (69) and James Neesham (9) and Colin de Grandhomme (1) when they were close to the target. Taylor ensured that the host do not snatch yet another defeat from a strong position. Earlier, sent into, Iyer (103 off 107 balls) scored his maiden ODI century, while KL Rahul (88 not out) and skipper Virat Kohli (51) made fine fifties in the first match of the three-game series.

Ross Taylor got the hundred but India captain Virat Kohli said it was Tom Latham's 48-ball 69 that took away the momentum from his side

"It was an outstanding performance by New Zealand. We thought 348 was good enough. Ross is the experienced batsman they have but Tom's innings was the one that took away the momentum. Credit to Taylor and Tom," Kohli said .

India were below-par on the field with Kuldeep Yadav dropping a skier and bowlers doing a less than commendable job. "Look, we didn't grab onto one chance, but we were decent. Something we need to keep (on) improving. We can't focus too much (on negative things). Today, the opposition played better than us and they deserved to win," Kohli said.

Stand-in skipper Tom Latham said building partnership and holding their nerves in the crucial moments helped New Zealand cross the finish line.

"Great performance from the guys. It was nice to keep our composure at the end and get across the line," Latham said at the post-match presentation. "For us it was about building partnerships. The total was a little more than what we would have liked to chase. But we managed to get off to a good start and keep wickets in hand.

"We saw how hard it was to defend with the left-right combination. It's nice to make winning contributions. The way Ross played was fantastic." India posted a huge 347 for 4 and Latham said his team will look to find their "perfect" game in the second ODI.

"We weren't quite where we wanted to be with the ball. So we got to improve and hopefully we will play the perfect game at Eden Park." Taylor, who was adjudged the Man of the Match for anchoring the chase, said the right-left combination and short boundaries helped New Zealand chased overhaul the total. "It has been an interesting summer, so as to speak, good to get across the line. To restrict them under 350, gave us a chance. We were fortunate with the right-left combination and we targeted the short boundary. Tom came in and released the pressure of me," he said.

"It's been a happy hunting ground for me. Hopefully we can put up a good performance in the next game. It was nice to be there at the end after I got out thrice towards the end in the T20 series." India will take on New Zealand in the second ODI on Saturday in Auckland.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir is not in favour of tinkering with KL Rahul's batting position as the Karnataka opener has been tried at different slots in the ongoing T20I and ODI series against New Zealand, where he has proved himself in all the departments.

"I am not sure if it is a great idea to remove KL Rahul from the top-order," Gambhir wrote.

""If anything India could have gone with a Rahul-Agarwal combination and have Rishabh Pant keep wickets. Rahul is a valuable asset and should be well looked after. Yes, he has done some good work behind the stumps in the games that he has kept. But I am not sure he should be expected to keep in the 50-over format," the 38-year-old added.

Gambhir also spoke about youngster Prithvi Shaw, who had opened for the Men in Blue in the first ODI and expressed that the Mumbai opener should be given some space. "The bigger picture is that India are in a commanding position. These phases in sports can prompt some audacious moves. More often than not the sporting luck favours the brave in such situations."

Hailing KL Rahul's antics on the field, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif compared the cricketer to a 'Swiss knife'.

Kaif highlighted the versatility of Rahul, saying that the player can do anything on the cricket field right now.

Rahul played a knock of 88 runs in the ongoing first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand to take India's score past the 340-run mark.

"Opens the innings, Keeps wickets, Stands in as captain, Now finishes big for his team, KL Rahul is Team India's very own Swiss knife #NZvIND," Kaif tweeted.

Rahul has been in remarkable form as he also took the Man of the Series award after scoring 224 runs in the recently concluded T20I series against the Kiwis. 

Kohli surpasses Ganguly

India's run-machine Virat Kohli added yet another feather to his cap by surpassing Sourav Ganguly in the list of India skippers with most ODI runs.

Kohli scored 51 off 63 deliveries in the first ODI of the three-match rubber against New Zealand played at the Seddon Park. The 31-year-old has now amassed 5,123 runs as skipper and surpassed current BCCI chief Ganguly's tally of 5,082 runs in 148 ODIs. He has taken only 87 matches to score these runs at an average of 76.46. Kohli has scored 21 hundreds and 23 fifties as India captain in ODIs.

Former skipper M.S. Dhoni sits at the top of the list of highest run-getters as India captain. He had scored 6,641 runs as captain while Mohammed Azharuddin had collected 5,239 runs in the 50-over format.

Overall, Ricky Ponting holds the record for scoring the maximum number of runs in ODIs as captain. Ponting scored 8497 runs for Australia in the 230 ODI matches he appeared in as captain. He is followed by Dhoni, Stephen Fleming (6295 runs in 218 ODIs), Arjuna Ranatunga (5608 in 193).