Vadodara, Jan 11 (UNI) Daryl Mitchell played an inspirational knock of 84 off 71 balls to anchor New Zealand to a competitive total of 300 for eight in their 50 overs against India in the first One-Day International at BCA Stadium here on Sunday.
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, India’s bowlers applied pressure at intervals, but Mitchell combined composure with timely aggression, striking three sixes and five fours to keep the innings on track.
Devon Conway also contributed 56 off 67 balls, while Henry Nicholls made 62 off 69 deliveries. Mitchell Hay added 18 off 13, and Kristian Clarke remained unbeaten on 24. Michael Bracewell, the New Zealand captain, was run out for 16.
India’s bowling attack saw Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana take two wickets each, while Kuldeep Yadav claimed one. Siraj finished with figures of 2 for 40 and Prasidh returned 2 for 65. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar bowled economically but went wicketless.
New Zealand’s innings included several late-over fireworks, with Clarke hitting a boundary and taking a double in the final over to reach exactly 300. Earlier, Bracewell was brilliantly run out by Shreyas Iyer, and Glenn Phillips fell to Kuldeep Yadav’s slower delivery for 12.
Key breakthroughs for India came when Rana removed openers Conway and Nicholls in successive overs, and Siraj struck in his second spell to dismiss Will Young (12). Despite these wickets, Mitchell’s composure and aggressive strokeplay ensured New Zealand finished with a challenging total.
India will now open their chase with captain Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli expected to anchor the innings.
The match is officiated by umpires KN Anantha Padmanabhan and Richard Illingworth, with Sharfuddoula as third umpire and Javagal Srinath as match referee.
