India head into the upcoming ODI series with momentum after edging New Zealand 3-2 in the T20Is. Although India claimed the first three matches, the Black Caps fought back to win the final two fixtures, powered by Glenn Phillips's historic 341-run campaign. This NZ VS IND, 1st ODi match is set to be played at Eden Park, Auckland a high scoring venue.
New Zealand, captained by Mitchell Santner, face injury hurdles without Mark Chapman, Rachin Ravindra, and Devon Conway. However, they draw confidence from Daryl Mitchell, who hammered 352 runs during their previous tour in January 2026.
Supported by Glenn Phillips, Will Young, Tom Latham, and Henry Nicholls, the batting remains potent, while Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy share the new ball aiming to repeat that historic 2-1 series triumph.
The headline for the visitors is the return of senior stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who now focus exclusively on ODIs. Both have enjoyed stellar 2026 campaigns, with Rohit amassing 604 runs across 12 matches and Kohli scoring 552 runs at an average of 69.
Alongside them, captain Shubman Gill has been in sensational form, compiling 895 runs at an average over 111, while KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer offer stability in the middle order. With Jasprit Bumrah absent and Prasidh Krishna injured, Mohammed Siraj spearheads the pace attack with newcomer Auqib Nabi.
NZ vs IND Probable Playing XI
New Zealand: Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
NZ vs IND, 1st ODI Match Winner Prediction
India enter this contest as the favourites to win this match, though they haven't had much success in New Zealand in past series, they have a chance to get off to a strong start here. But the host's troubled by injuries are still a strong force to be reckoned with at home and we back them to outclass India and win the 1st ODI match and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
