The first ODI of the New Zealand tour of India 2026 is scheduled to take place tomorrow, January 11, at 1:30 PM at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.
This may be the least significant of the three formats at the moment, but it is also the only one in which the two biggest Indian players of the previous decade now play. The format with which India most closely aligns. It is reasonable to expect all attention to be on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have returned with a lot of runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi and Mumbai.
Kohli scored a total of 208 runs in two matches, including 131 against Andhra Pradesh and 77 against Gujarat in his last appearance. Rohit Sharma struck 155 against Sikkim but was out for a duck against Uttarakhand. Both of them undoubtedly helped their teams advance in the competition, with Delhi taking on Vidarbha and Mumbai facing heavyweights Karnataka.
The comeback of skipper Shubman Gill, who played only one game for Punjab in VHT 2025-26, a six-wicket victory against Goa, will also be glanced over.
Except for a 1-2 loss to Australia, the Men in Blue were undefeated in 50-over cricket in 2025. The squad appears to be more at ease than ever as Shreyas Iyer returns to the No. 4 place. In bowling, India will see Mohammed Siraj replace Jasprit Bumrah, who is resting ahead of a tough T20 season. He will be joined by youthful players Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, while Kuldeep will once again spearhead the spin attack.
On the other hand, New Zealand have lots of tricks under their sleeve. The Black Caps have done outstanding work in white-ball cricket over the last several years, demonstrating time and again that they can be among the best in the sport on any given day. The last time they were in India, they handed the hosts their first home Test series loss in almost a decade, and Bracewell and his team will want to do the same in their 2026 white-ball visit.
Head-to-Head:
India and New Zealand first clashed in ODI cricket in 1975 and have since played 120 matches. India have a slim edge with 62 victories, while New Zealand won 50 matches. Seven games finished with no results.
Where to watch:
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