Live report - New Zealand seal first-ever ODI series win in India despite Kohli ton

The crowd still believed. Kohli began the 46th over with back-to-back boundaries to bring the equation down to 48 off 28 balls. But two balls later, he miscues a big hit down the ground, and hits the ball down Daryl Mitchell's throat at long-off. Took one of the two best and most in-form ODI batters in the world to catch out the other. Kohli walks back for 125 off 108 balls. It's his 29th century in ODI chases. It's about to become only the fifth of them in a losing cause.

Two balls later, it's all over. Arshdeep Singh dabs into the off side, to the right of Phillips at short cover. Both he and Kuldeep Yadav set off for the single, but there's a split-second of ball-watching, and that's all it takes. Phillips throws out the stumps at the striker's end and catches Kuldeep short of the crease.

India are all out for 296. New Zealand win by 41 runs. They come back from 1-0 down to win an ODI series in India for the first time ever. With a severely depleted team. Just over a year after blanking India 3-0 in a Test series in India. What a set of achievements for this team.

Biggest over of the match, and it's Kyle Jamieson, of all people, who bowls it. Serial tormenter of India, travelling the distance. Two sixes, one straight down the ground by Kohli off a full-toss, one over midwicket, a baseball-style hit off a back-of-a-length ball.

And Rana follows up with another monster hit, over wide long-on, again off a hard length. Cross-seam ball from Foulkes this time, and he absolutely thumps it to bring up a maiden ODI fifty off just 41 balls. Superb.

And just as I finish typing that, as with Reddy, Rana departs right after bringing up fifty. A high-ish full-toss, though not above waist high, and again he looks to club it down the ground, but this time it doesn't come off the middle, and Henry Nicholls takes a superb catch running in from long-on and tumbling forwards.

And just as I type that, Foulkes strikes again next ball. Bowls one down leg, Mohammed Siraj looks to flick, and only manages an inside edge to the keeper. India are 277 for 8 and need 61 in 37 balls.

Stunning innings, especially because it's 2026, and he's in the kind of rhythm he was in in 2016 when these things felt inevitable, especially in ODI chases. Gets there in 91 balls, and India still have hope, going into the last 10 overs with 108 required.

Harshit Rana's given Kohli excellent support, scoring 22 off 30 so far, and playing some excellent shots including one off Foulkes where he stepped out, made room, held his shape upon spotting the slower ball, and then brought his wrists into play to drive inside-out and split the cover-point-extra-cover gap.

This is exhilarating. With the required rate being what it is, Kohli's got to go after the boundaries now, and he's also aware that the middle-overs field restrictions will end soon. After hitting just one four in 52 balls, when Nitish and Jadeja were with him, he has hit three fours and a six in the space of 11 balls.

The six was especially breathtaking, a wristy, disdainful whip over backward square leg off Zak Foulkes. Kohli is now on 95 off 87 balls, and Harshit Rana, who continues to show he has the tools to be India's No. 8, is on 16 off 22. India need 119 off 72 balls.

Can't fault Jadeja for taking on the left-arm spinner. He's supposed to do that, and the required rate is nearing nine. And he steps out to the first ball of his over. You're supposed to try and put the bowler under pressure early in the over. But Jayden Lennox sees him step out and fires the ball closer to the line of his feet, taking away Jadeja's ability to fully extend his arms. Excellent bowling. Can't clear deep midwicket, and India are 178 for 6 in 32.1 overs.

Lovely innings. Five boundaries (three fours and two sixes) in this partnership with Kohli, and Reddy has hit four of them, but that apart he's approached it pretty much the same way as Kohli at the other end, calmly knocking the ball around and running like the wind. Hurried through the 40s with two sixes: a fierce, swivelling pull off Zak Foulkes, and then a massive slog-sweep off Glenn Phillips.

And just as I'm about to post this, he's out. Clarke comes back into the attack and gets his second wicket. Reddy looks to pull, and gets a little cramped for room. Will Young falls to his left at short midwicket and takes an excellent low catch.

Reddy goes for 53 off 57. India are 159 for 5 as Ravindra Jadeja walks in. Not a lot of batting to come.

Kohli played a similar shot in Rajkot, and now he shows it was no one-off. Just a simple back-foot flick, and even he's only looking at it as a strike-rotation kind of shot, but it speeds away past Jamieson running to his right at deep square leg, and sticking his foot out to try and stop the ball. Incredible timing, and a hard outfield with a smattering of bare patches.

Gets there in 51 balls. Nice little partnership developing between him and Nitish, 51 off 61 balls at the moment. India are 122 for 4, and need 216 from 27 overs, which is exactly eight an over.

...and unlikely to take the field hereon, the commentators say. Left calf issue. Daryl Mitchell is captaining New Zealand at the moment.

Uh oh. India are tottering here. Jayden Lennox comes on in the 13th over and strikes with his fifth ball. Grips, stops, turns, and KL Rahul, surprised by all that, ends up playing a checked punch that's caught at extra-cover. India are 71 for 4 in 13.5.

Nitish Reddy is in at No. 6.

He spooned a catch to mid-off in Rajkot, and now he's flat-batted a shortish ball straight to mid-on. Kristian Clarke gets his second.

Softish dismissals in all three matches for Iyer. He scored 49 in the first ODI in Vadodara before playing across an in-ducker from Jamieson, just India had lost two quick wickets. You can argue that he's just backing his shots and they've just happened to not come off during this series, but the timing of his wickets has hurt India.

India are 68 for 3 in 11.2 overs.

Four fours and a six as he races to 28 off 26, but more than those numbers, it's the intent that's indicative of this new approach, which Sidharth Monga has written about here. He's just stepped out to wallop Kristian Clarke through the covers, and earlier in his innings, he pulled Foulkes in the air, all the way for six.

That was, Monga tells me, the third time since the recent series against New Zealand that he'd hit a six within his first 20 balls at the crease. He'd only done so once in the three years before that, and that too off a free hit.

And he gets him with a cracking delivery, nips back in from just outside off, beats the inside edge, and ricochets off the front pad onto the top of off stump as Gill looks to defend off the front foot. Kyle Jamieson saw what I'd written about New Zealand not getting the same early movement that India's quicks did, and immediately began to make the ball talk. Beat Virat Kohli in his previous over with one that climbed and nipped away like a legcutter, and now he gets this one to go the other way.

And then he greets Shreyas Iyer with big away movement to beat a slightly loose drive outside off stump.

India are 45 for 2 in seven overs. They have issues in their lower middle order, so a LOT of pressure on this current pair and KL Rahul to follow.

A series that never quite got going for Rohit Sharma, even though he looked pretty good most of the time. Follows up 26 and 21 in the first two ODIs with 11 here.

He's out after an eventful first over from Kristian Clarke, introduced in the fourth over. Rohit edges him behind, looking to steer behind point, and keeper Mitchell Hay puts down a low chance diving to his right. Then he caresses a cover drive on the up for four. Then he kind of checks a flick - not sure if the ball stops on him - and ends up popping a simple catch to mid-on. India 28 for 1 in four overs.

Having seen a replay, I think the ball straightened a bit on Rohit. Changed his mind from flick to straight-bat punch, but checked the shot. Might have cleared mid-on if he'd gone through with it.

New Zealand lost both openers inside their first two overs. India have raced away in their first three, hitting four fours in that time, all silkily timed. Three of them off Shubman Gill's bat, one off Rohit Sharma's. Kyle Jamieson and Zak Foulkes haven't seemed to find the early movement, in the air and off the deck, that India's new-ball bowlers did.

On most grounds in the world, 337 is still a commanding total in ODIs. But here in Indore, where 380 had been crossed three times in just seven matches before today?

On the one hand, New Zealand have done brilliantly to get here after losing two wickets in the first two overs. On the other, after that double-century stand between Mitchell and Phillips, you would have thought they'd get to 350. Phillips, interviewed between innings, says the pitch played "a little bit more two-paced than we thought".

In any case, excellent final over from Siraj, who bowled magnificently right through, finding just enough grip for his wobble-seam ball on this pitch, bowling relentlessly good lengths in the phases when that was required, and pinpoint yorkers and bouncers when that was required. Four dots off the first four balls, with Bracewell looking to stay on strike, a six over square leg, and four byes conceded when Siraj spotted Bracewell stepping across, fired it full and just outside leg (the new leg-side wide line is really giving bowlers some leeway now), but Rahul, expecting a wide yorker outside off, is wrong-footed, and concedes four byes.

Siraj finishes with 1 for 43 in his ten overs, Bracewell is unbeaten on 28 off 18.

Anyway, one little dive into some numbers. When India made 385 here against New Zealand in 2023, our scorers recorded them as attempting 72 aggressive shots, and achieving a control percentage of 72 while playing those shots. New Zealand today have attempted 64 aggressive shots, with a control percentage of 83. It certainly looked like they could have taken more chances, particularly during the Mitchell-Phillips stand, particularly given the batting depth they have.

On the other hand, India have depth issues, with question marks over Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy, their Nos. 6 and 7 today. The top order is always crucial in big chases; perhaps even more so today.

We all know how dangerous Michael Bracewell is, and he's showing it here with his clean hitting over midwicket and the covers, and we're now seeing what Kristian Clarke, who made his debut in the first ODI, can do with the bat.

Crisp, straight drive over the bowler for four, followed by a step across to the off side to pull a back-of-a-length ball waaay over the square leg boundary. Harshit Rana, under the pump, bowls him next ball with a yorker, beating the attempted scoop over short fine, but Clarke has done a fine job with 11 off 5.

New Zealand are 327 for 8 in 49 overs. Rana finishes with 3 for 84 in his 10 overs. Bracewell is on strike for the last over, batting on 22 of 12.

His third today. A little unlucky for Zak Foulkes, who times his reverse-scoop nicely off Arshdeep's yorker, and would have picked up four had he hit it a couple of yards either side of Kuldeep at short third. But he hits it within the fielder's range, and Kuldeep takes his second good, low catch of the innings, falling forwards.

New Zealand 304 for 7 in 47.1 overs.

We've seen this happen before, teams going after Kuldeep and damaging his figures before he gets crucial late wickets. Now he gets Mitchell Hay lbw. We've spoken of New Zealand using the sweep and reverse-sweep to telling effect, and this ball shows why it's even more impressive against a bowler of Kuldeep's style and quality. He excels at pitching within and finishing within the stumps, and if you miss - as Hay did with his reverse-sweep here - he inevitably gets you out lbw. This was an example of Kuldeep being able to be stump-to-stump even with his wrong'un.

New Zealand are 286 for 6 in 45.2 overs.

India are really hitting back here. Excellent offcutter-bouncer from Siraj. Well outside off without offering width for the uppercut, and gets up around shoulder height. Mitchell looks to hook from there, and he can't control it, and Kuldeep takes a good low catch running in from long leg. Mitchell is out for 137 off 131, his highest ODI score. All four of his hundreds against India have been scores from 130 to 137. The nervous 130s.

New Zealand are 283 for 5 in 44.1 overs.

India really, really needed a wicket, after conceding 52 runs in 24 balls from overs 40 to 43. And Arshdeep gets the breakthrough. Wide, full cutter, making Phillips reach for the ball to slash it away. Edges it to the keeper, and he's out for 106 off 88 balls. New Zealand are 277 for 4 in 43.1.

Terrific innings. He's moved through the gears so smoothly. He was batting on 21 off 36 balls at one stage, and he's clattered 79 off his next 47 balls without ever appearing to over-exert himself, and got to his century in 83 balls. New Zealand are 266 for 3 in 42 overs.

And it's travelling. After a sighter over each from Jadeja and Kuldeep, New Zealand have hit them for three sixes across the 40th and 41st overs.

Second in a row, fourth against India, fourth in India. Can anyone stop this man? Gets there in 107 balls, in the 36th over, and enough time remains in this innings for Mitchell to turn this into a really, really big one.

Not long after Mitchell's landmark moment, Phillips tickles one off his pads to the fine leg boundary, off a full-toss on the pads from Rana, to bring up the 150 partnership.

Busy innings from Phillips, just the three fours and a six so far. Gets to his fifty in 53 balls. New Zealand are 183 for 3 in 33 overs, and while the boundaries have started to come a little more freely in the last six or so overs, they're still batting within themselves for the time being.

Lovely, effortless chipped six down the ground off Arshdeep in the 28th over, then two fours off Reddy in the 29th - a straight punch followed by a top-edged pull over the keeper - and he's now moved to 43 off 46 balls. New Zealand are 152 for 3 in 29.

Interestingly, only three overs of spin so far, all bowled by Kuldeep. No sign of Jadeja yet. The short boundaries and Reddy's display have prompted India to keep going back to their seamers.

Anyway, Jadeja has come on to bowl the 30th.

He's been getting some heat of late, for his selection, for getting selected and batting too low, for getting selected and not bowling much, etc. Now he's bowling a nice little spell that almost takes you back to New Zealand's phalanx of medium to medium-fast dobbers in the 90s: stump to stump, on a length that lets him finish somewhere near the top of the stumps, with the keeper up. Just 17 runs in his first four overs.

You have to wonder, though, if some of this is down to New Zealand allowing him to bowl by not taking chances against him. Perhaps the ball is nibbling a little more off the surface than is maybe apparent to the viewer.

As I type this, Mitchell slugs him for a six over wide long-on at the start of his fifth over.

Update: Later in the over, you get some idea of why New Zealand might be batting a little conservatively. Glenn Phillips looks to pull Reddy, and the ball maybe sticks in the surface a bit, and he ends up top-edging high in the air. Rana hurtles from short fine to try and catch it somewhere around the square leg region, but he can't quite reach the ball even with a dive. Just eludes his fingertips.

84, 131*, and now 51* off 56 balls, with, if things go to plan for him, a lot more to come. And his two previous innings against India in India were 130 and 134 during the 2023 World Cup. What a player.

The contest we've all been waiting for begins in the 17th over, and it begins with a bang. First ball, Mitchell jumps out of his crease and pumps Kuldeep Yadav straight back over his head for six. That's the sixth six Mitchell has hit off Kuldeep in ODIs. Only Glenn Maxwell (9) and Jonny Bairstow (7) have hit more off Kuldeep, while Aaron Finch has also hit him for six sixes.

Anyway, nine runs off the over, and New Zealand are 84 for 3 in 17.

Oh, and after that over, Mitchell's also gone past Shai Hope (167) for most runs by any batter against Kuldeep in ODIs.

We'd only just spoken about Rana's tendency to offer width, and here it gets him a wicket. Young cuts, a little too close to Jadeja at backward point, and he falls to his right and takes a sharp catch.

New Zealand are 58 for 3 in 12.1 overs, and Young will be kicking himself.

Rana has bowled well for most part today, but he's also conceded two fours and a six from giving up a little too much width. Himanish Ganjoo, who has been part of India's backroom as an analyst during Rahul Dravid's tenure as head coach, spots a possible contributing factor to the times he strays too wide.

There are three reasons why this is such a high-scoring ground. The pitch typically allows batters to hit through the line with freedom, and the outfield is both quick and tiny. How tiny? Will Young leans back and uppercuts Rana for a six over backward point in the sixth over, and it's only a 68m hit, which in most grounds would probably land just beyond the boundary cushions. Here it clears the fence behind it and lands in the crowd.

Either side of that, Daryl Mitchell plays two superb shots off Arshdeep that show just how full of runs this game might be. Both are off the back foot, both are played with a straight bat, one between cover and mid-off and the other between midwicket and mid-on, and both are unstoppable fours as soon as they've found the gap.

Warning signs for India, with their two tormenters from Rajkot looking fluent again.

So much happening so quickly. First, it's notable that Harshit Rana bowls the second over rather than Mohammed Siraj. And why not - he's been really impressive across phases in this series, bowling the fuller new-ball lengths when he's needed to, and getting the ball to move around.

And move around is exactly what this ball, delivered from round the wicket, does. Angling in, hitting a superb length in the corridor, forcing an uncertain jab, and straightening to find the edge to first slip. Third time Conway has fallen to Rana in three innings this series.

New Zealand are 5 for 2 in 1.1 overs.

Henry Nicholls is out first ball, but he wouldn't have been on strike had Ravindra Jadeja been able to grab onto a spectacular diving effort at backward point the previous ball, of a fiercely-struck Devon Conway square cut. So it goes.

Arshdeep had been getting a hint of shape away from the two left-hand openers, and Nicholls was leaving this ball, but the line was so close to off stump initially that he made that decision late, and left enough of his bat in the path of the ball to deflect it into the stumps off the inside edge.

New Zealand are 5 for 1 in 0.4 overs.

India brought Arshdeep Singh into their XI for the first time in this ODI series as they chose to bowl in the decider in Indore. India captain Shubman Gill did not think dew would be much of a factor in the evening, but felt it would be better to have a target in sight in what has traditionally been a high-scoring venue.

India took this decision despite having won their last two ODIs in Indore while batting first and posting totals of 385 and 399. Only Trent Bridge and the Wankhede have produced more 380-plus ODI totals than the Holkar Stadium.

New Zealand named an unchanged XI from the second ODI in Rajkot, which they won by seven wickets to draw level in the series.

Left-arm swing bowler Arshdeep, who replaced Prasidh Krishna in the pace attack, is expected to share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj, with the hit-the-deck Harshit Rana likely to move to a middle-overs role.

New Zealand: 1 Devon Conway, 2 Henry Nicholls, 3 Will Young, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Mitchell Hay (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell (capt), 8 Kristian Clarke, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Zak Foulkes, 11 Jayden Lennox.

India: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harshit Rana, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed Siraj.