Vadodara: Virat Kohli reigned supreme once again with a 91-ball 93 and skipper Shubman Gill hit 56 but India huffed and puffed before completing a nervy four-wicket win against New Zealand in the opening ODI of the three-match series here on Sunday.
In pursuit of 301, India were in complete control when Kohli departed in the 40th over but a flurry of wickets saw the home side going over the line with 306 for six in 49 overs.
Kohli fell a few runs short of what could have been his 54th ODI century when India needed 67 from 66 balls with seven wickets in hand.
Ravindra Jadeja (4) and Shreyas Iyer (49) followed him soon in the dressing room, giving New Zealand a real chance to clinch the game.
However, KL Rahul (29 not out) put on 37 runs with Harshit Rana (29), and the remaining runs came in company of an injury-hit Washington Sundar (7 not out), aided by a few uncharacteristic dropped catches by the Kiwis towards the end. It was Kyle Jamieson (4/41) who dragged New Zealand back in the game when all seemed lost, getting
Kohli caught at mid-on to deny the India batting stalwart a deserving ton. He also cleaned up Iyer with an off-cutter and got rid of Jadeja.
Even as he fell a few runs short of a century, Kohli became the quickest to reach 28,000 runs in international cricket and now only the second behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, going past Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara.
New Zealand had posed an at-par 300/8 but with Kohli in such imperious form, it never was enough especially with a depleted bowling attack.
If he didn’t refrain from hitting over the top early on against South Africa, Kohli pulverised the Kiwis from the moment he
arrived on the crease with a flurry of fours.