Rahul leads India – IND vs NZ Live Score, 1st ODI: Thanks to Daryl Mitchell’s brilliant inning of 84 runs, New Zealand scored a competitive score of 300 runs for 8 wickets in the first ODI against India on Sunday. Mitchell, ranked third in the world behind Indian superstars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, played a brilliant, stroke-filled innings which gave New Zealand a boost after a middle-order wobble. He hit five fours and three sixes and kept the scoreboard ticking at crucial times.

The innings had started in ideal fashion, with openers Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls frustrating the Indian bowlers with confident strokeplay. Conway scored 56 runs in 67 balls with the help of six fours and a six, while Nicholls scored 62 runs in 69 balls with the help of eight fours. The duo’s opening partnership of 117 runs challenged India’s attack in the first 21 overs, showcasing well-timed drives, sweeps and even reverse sweeps, as well as cleverly rotating the strike.

The momentum changed when Harshit Rana returned for his second spell. In the 22nd over, he lured Nicholls to the wicketkeeper to take India’s first wicket.

Rana then played a mixture of slower balls and back-of-the-hand cutters to dismiss Conway in the 24th over. New Zealand went from 117 runs without any loss to 198 runs for five wickets in the 38th over. After this, Mitchell took the innings forward by making important partnerships, while debutant Christian Clarke, hitting at fast pace, contributed three fours in his unbeaten 24 runs in 17 balls.

Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna were also among the wicket-takers, with Krishna clean bowling Mitchell Hay and Shreyas Iyer taking a direct-hit run out to dismiss captain Michael Bracewell. Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket, although Nicholls’ dropped chance early on gave the Kiwi batsmen a chance to settle down. Despite routine successes, the class of the opening pair and aggressive counterattacking from Mitchell ensured that New Zealand crossed the 300-run mark, setting a challenging total for India and making for an interesting first ODI encounter.