KL Rahul’s Century Lifts India to a Strong Total After New Zealand Opt to Field

New Zealand won the toss in Rajkot and elected to field first, backing better chasing conditions later in the evening despite the venue favoring teams batting first in this India vs New Zealand ODI.

India captain Shubman Gill said he would have batted first anyway, adding that “there wasn't much dew at the venue when they trained the night before” and noting the pitch “tended to slow down.”

India replaced the injured Washington Sundar with Nitish Kumar Reddy, while New Zealand handed a debut to left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox in place of Adithya Ashok at the Rajkot ODI.

Solid Start Before New Zealand Strike Back

India started slowly, and Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill focused on rotating the strike rather than attacking aggressively. The first partnership took India to seventy before Rohit was dismissed on twenty-four, caught by Will Young off Kristian Clarke. Gill batted fluently and reached his half-century of fifty-six balls in the half-century, but was then dismissed to give New Zealand an opening.

Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravindra Jadeja fell in rapid succession as New Zealand tightened the screws, and India were reduced to one hundred and eighteen for four. Clarke was in control in the middle overs and he took three wickets and kept the scoring rate in check.

Rahul Anchors And Accelerates

KL Rahul took charge of the innings and held it together, and then switched the pace. He established a critical partnership with Jadeja and then Nitish Kumar Reddy, and India remained on its track even when the wickets were falling. 

Rahul brought up his century off eighty-seven balls and remained unbeaten on 112, while Reddy’s quick twenty added valuable runs at the death.

India ended their innings with 284 for 7 in 50 overs, which provided New Zealand with a difficult target in the light. As the pitch was predicted to become a slow one and the dew remained doubtful, the total gave India a strong position as they proceeded to the second innings.