Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to India colours on Wednesday, 4 November, when India face New Zealand in the first of five ODIs at Eden Park, Auckland. The match starts at 7:30 am IST, so set an alarm, and both batters walk in with a handful of big records within touching distance. Shubman Gill captains India for the first three games, with Shreyas Iyer taking over for the last two.
Match details
- Match: New Zealand vs India, 1st ODI
- Date: Wednesday, 4 November 2026
- Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
- Toss: 7:00 am IST; first ball at 7:30 am IST
- Live on: Sony Sports Network (TV) and SonyLIV (streaming)
Head-to-head, India lead 63-52 in 123 ODIs against New Zealand, with one tie and seven no results, as per Business Standard.
Virat Kohli’s record watch
Kohli has a habit of turning bilateral series into personal milestone tours. These are the numbers to track, based on figures compiled by ETV Bharat:
| Record | Current | What he needs |
|---|---|---|
| Most List A centuries | 60, level with Sachin Tendulkar | 1 more hundred to hold it alone |
| Most ODI runs vs New Zealand | 1,897 (Ricky Ponting has 1,971) | 76 runs |
| First No. 3 batter to 13,000 ODI runs | 12,988 at No. 3 | 12 runs |
| Most ODI runs in chases | 8,667 (Tendulkar has 8,720) | 54 runs |
The 12 runs at No. 3 could come before most of India has finished its morning chai. The Tendulkar century record is the big one, and Kohli got to 60 in 340 List A innings compared to Tendulkar’s 538.
Rohit Sharma’s milestone
Rohit has 98 scores of 50 or more in ODIs. Two more and he becomes only the third Indian, after Tendulkar and Kohli, to reach 100 such scores. His fitness was a talking point last week too, when a former India coach spoke about an old injury, so a big knock here would settle a few debates.
Team news
India are without Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested, and Prasidh Krishna, who has a hamstring problem. Auqib Nabi comes in as Prasidh’s replacement. New Zealand are missing Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman for the whole series, and Devon Conway is out of the opener with a concussion.
India’s predicted XI, as per Business Standard: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir has already said the bowlers could decide this series, which is a fair point after the T20Is.
How the T20Is ended
India won the T20I series 3-2, but New Zealand took the last two games. In the fifth T20I in Hamilton on 1 November, India made 191/8 with fifties from Ishan Kishan (61 off 32) and Shreyas Iyer (50 off 23). Tim Seifert’s 93 off 50 and Glenn Phillips’ unbeaten 65 helped New Zealand chase it down with 12 balls to spare. So the hosts head into the ODIs with some momentum, and India’s senior batters arrive with plenty to play for. Ex-RCB teammate Jacob Duffy, by the way, has already shared what surprised him most about Kohli. He now has to bowl at him.
Frequently asked questions
What time does the IND vs NZ 1st ODI start?
The toss is at 7:00 am IST and the match starts at 7:30 am IST on Wednesday, 4 November 2026.
Where can I watch India vs New Zealand ODIs live?
The series is on Sony Sports Network on TV and streams on the SonyLIV app and website in India.
Who is India’s captain for the New Zealand ODIs?
Shubman Gill leads India in the first three ODIs and Shreyas Iyer captains the last two.
Which records can Virat Kohli break in the 1st ODI?
He can pass Sachin Tendulkar’s 60 List A centuries, become the first No. 3 batter to 13,000 ODI runs, and move closer to Ricky Ponting’s record for most ODI runs against New Zealand.
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