India vs New Zealand 1st ODI Live Cricket Score Updates: India will open their 2026 calendar year campaign on Sunday in Vadodara as captain Shubman Gill targets his first series win as skipper of the ODI ship.
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Gill has not had the best of ends to 2025, losing his spot in the T20 World Cup side and even more frustratingly getting injured and subsequently missing out on crucial Test and ODI contests against South Africa. The 26-year-old, however, has not let them define him as he exemplified it clearly during the pre-match press conference.
India vs New Zealand 1st ODI Live Match Streaming Online Detailed: Know Here
Similarly, returning from an injury setback is vice-captain Shreyas Iyer who will also hope to reiterate his importance in the set-up during the series. However, undeniably a lot of the spotlight will still remain on the heavyweights, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who finished 2025 as India’s two-highest run-scorers in the format. There wouldn’t be much work for them in the first half of the season but the three games will be important to keep themselves at the top of their mark for the second half of 2026.
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While top-order batsmen often steal the spotlight in Indian cricket, the nation’s most iconic victories have historically been built on the strength of a reliable middle order. From the 1983 heroics of Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil to the versatile 2011 core featuring MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina, championship success has always required a solid spine.
After years of instability following the 2019 World Cup—where a fragile middle order proved to be India’s undoing—the team has finally found a dependable duo in KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. Their partnership has been transformative. READ More from Shankar Narayan
