New Zealand’s much-anticipated white-ball tour of India is all set to get underway with the first ODI in Vadodara on Sunday (January 11).

Ahead of the series, Kiwi middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell is banking on his 2023 World Cup experience to excel in ODIs.

Mitchell was the fifth leading run-getter in the quadrennial event, amassing 552 runs from 9 innings at an average of 69 and a strike rate of 111.06, including two hundreds and as many half-centuries.

The highlight of his stellar performance was the knock of 134 in 119 balls in the semi-final against India, which almost enabled the Black Caps to chase down 397 before they fell short by 70 runs.

“It’s a great challenge when you come into these parts. As a New Zealander, you don’t grow up on surfaces like this. I’ll be able to draw on my experiences from the last few years and take in the positives, such as the ODI World Cup in 2023,” Mitchell said, as quoted by TOI.

While the T20 World Cup 2026 is less than a month away, Mitchell said the Kiwis are currently focusing on the impending assignment against New Zealand.

“We’ll look at the T20 World Cup in a month’s time. For now we’ll worry about playing an ODI series against India. A really key value for us is being where our feet are and that means being in the present and what the challenge is at that moment.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand batter Henry Nicholls has suggested that playing against India in their backyard will be a like a “carrot” for the youngsters, especially with the IPL 2026 starting in a couple of months.

“I’m sure there’ll be an absolute carrot, but again, the interest when you play over here... certainly from the fans, but also around the world, that’s what you want to test yourself against is the best team in their own conditions and that sort of the challenge we have in front of us. There’s not many places around the world that have the same excitement and passion that the fans here do. We’ve got some fresh guys in the squad who haven’t experienced it,” Nicholls remarked.

Following the three ODIs, India and New Zealand will engage in five T20Is from January 21 to January 31.