New Zealand vs India: 1st ODI– Player Ratings

India continued their great form from Australia as they defeated the hosts in the first ODI at Napier. The Black Caps just didn’t show up in any department as they lost the game by eight wickets. Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat first on what looked a beautiful wicket to bat on.

The innings didn’t go to plan for the Kiwis as they kept on losing wickets at the regular intervals. Mohammad Shami set the tone at the top and spinners spun a web around the middle-order batsmen as NZ were bundled out for 157.

Williamson was the only batsman who looked good and scored a half-century for his team. Chasing 158, India started well with 41-0 at the dinner break. After the break, Rohit departed early and the match was stopped due to an unusual incident.

For the first time in international cricket, a game was stopped by the sun. Due to the interruption, the match was reduced to 49 overs with a target of 156. Shikhar Dhawan along with Virat Kohli and Ambati Rayudu chased down the total pretty easily.

With this win, India now takes the initial lead of 1-0 in the five-match series. NZ will look to make a comeback in the next game on the 26th of January. Here are the player ratings for the first ODI.

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India

Team India

1. Rohit Sharma– 3/10

Rohit Sharma wasn’t timing the ball well as he got out for 11. He had the opportunity to score big but he didn’t take it. He will look to score in the next few games.

2. Shikhar Dhawan– 8/10

Dhawan played his role to perfection. He gave an aggressive start and converted the start to a 75*. He had not been capitalizing on the starts in the previous few matches, but now that he has done it, he will get the confidence for the rest of the series.

3. Virat Kohli – 6/10

Kohli was looking set for another ODI half-century but got out for 45. As usual, he looked good and was driving the balls for fun. He would be disappointed that he didn’t remain not out at the end.

4. Ambati Rayudu– 6/10

Rayudu didn’t have much to do as he came into bat when India needed just 24 runs to win. He scored a 13* and that’s the best he could have done.

5. MS Dhoni– 6/10

He did not get to bat, but he was neat with the gloves and even hatched with wrist-spinner Kuldeep, a plan to dismiss Trent Boult.

6. Kedar Jadhav– 6/10

Kedar Jadhav did the job of the sixth bowler well as he bowled three good overs and picked up a wicket as well. His services with the bat weren't needed.

7. Vijay Shankar– 6/10

Vijay Shankar was economical with the ball as he bowled four overs for just 19 runs. He didn't get to bat, for the second time in a row.

8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar– 6/10

Bhuvi didn't have much to do as the spinners spun a web against the Kiwis. He was decent with the new ball and wasn't needed for his second spell.

9. Kuldeep Yadav – 9/10

After a disappointing outing in the 2nd ODI against Australia Kuldeep made a brilliant comeback in this game. He didn't pick any wickets in his first six overs but picked up four in his last four.

10. Mohammad Shami – 8.5/10

Shami gave the perfect start to India as he picked up the openers in his first couple of overs. He came back in his second spell to take the wicket of Mitchell Santner. He is making a strong case for the third seamer's spot in the World Cup.

11. Yuzvendra Chahal – 8/10

Yuzvendra Chahal continued his good form as he picked up two wickets for 43 runs. He took the important wickets of Ross Taylor and Tom Latham who were in great form before this series.

New Zealand

NZ

1. Martin Guptill – 3/10

Martin Guptill didn’t start the series well as he got out in the second over of the match. He survived a few close LBW calls in that over against Mohammad Shami before getting out bowled for just five runs.

2. Colin Munro – 3/10

Colin Munro joined Guptill in getting out early, and that too against the bowling of Shami. Munro hit two boundaries off Kumar’s bowling but perished in the next over when he tried to drive a good length delivery.

3. Kane Williamson– 8/10

The NZ captain was the only batsman who scored a substantial score for his team. He looked at ease against the fast bowlers as well as the spinners. He timed the ball beautifully in his innings of 64.

4. Ross Taylor– 4/10

Before the series, all the talk was about Taylor's consistency in the last few years, but he didn't live up to the expectations. He looked comfortable against the pacers but got out on 24 when the leg-spinner was introduced. His struggles against wrist spin were highlighted with his dismissal.

5. Tom Latham– 3/10

Latham was supposed to be one of the better batsmen against spin but he too got out caught and bowled against Chahal's bowling. His first innings after a rest didn't last long as he was dismissed for 11.

6. Henry Nicholls– 3/10

Nicholls' stay at the crease wasn't too long. He was dismissed on 12 against the part-time bowling of Kedar Jadhav. Rohit Sharma took a great catch to get rid of Nicholls as he had timed that shot well, without much control.

7. Mitchell Santner– 6/10

Mitchell Santner tried to build a partnership with Williamson but got out to Shami while batting on 14. He couldn’t do much with the ball as they didn’t have many runs on the board. He was economical but couldn’t pick up any wickets.

8. Doug Bracewell– 6/10

Doug Bracewell who was picked as the seam-bowling all-rounder didn’t do much with the bat. But he picked up the wicket of Rohit Sharma in his seven overs and even Dhawan was dropped off his bowling.

9. Trent Boult – 5/10

Trent Boult was economical with the ball as he gave away just 19 runs in his six overs. But his main job is to pick up early wickets, which he failed to do.

10. Tim Southee– 4/10

Tim Southee didn’t make any significant impact with the ball in hand. He conceded 36 runs in his 6.5 overs and didn’t pick up any wicket.

11. Lockie Ferguson– 5/10

Lockie Ferguson looked a bit off color at the start as he conceded a few boundaries. He came back later to take the wicket of Kohli and didn’t create a chance against Rayudu.