New Zealand batter Henry Nicholls highlighted the importance of ongoing ODI series against India, noting limited matches in this format between major global events.

Despite the ODI World Cup scheduled for next year, the relevance of the format and the context of the ongoing series have been questioned, especially with the focus on T20 World Cup 2026.

“Like you say there’s not as much one-day cricket between major events, I think that makes these series even more important," Nicholls said ahead of New Zealand’s training session at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.

He added, “A few of us have been playing some List-A cricket back home, so we have got a bit of the format under our belt. But it’s a format that we enjoy playing so when you have those series now, they are more important than ever with limited amount."

Reflecting on New Zealand’s four-wicket defeat in the series opener in Vadodara, Nicholls stressed the need for sustained brilliance.

“From a batting point of view, we did a lot of things pretty well and it’s a case of us being able to do them for a bit longer. Devon and I (had a) partnership at the top, if one of us is able to bat for an extended period of time…"

“That’s always the case of one-day cricket, if you’re able to have wickets in hand, have a set batter in through to the last 15 (or) 10 overs then it certainly extends your death (overs) period," he remarked.

Commenting on the inexperienced Kiwi players facing seasoned campaigners like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Nicholls acknowledged that they were able to put some pressure.

“That’s the challenge when you come over here and certainly as a young group — even as an experienced group — is when you play against players who have played that much cricket."

“But also to see it firsthand in the first game and the way the guys adapted, certainly from a bowling point of view, bowling to those guys and finding ways to try and put them under pressure…"

“If we are able to do some of those things even as an inexperienced side, then the nature of cricket is (that) if you’re able to take wickets, you’re able to put teams under pressure," he stated.

Nicholls also opened up on the impact of one-ball rule after the 34th over, which makes batting tougher.

“We saw at the end of our innings (as well), the ball was quite a lot darker and a lot softer as well which can make it harder to get away," he said.

“That is why they brought the rule in in terms of choosing one ball to make it a little bit harder around the death stage.

“That’s certainly something to keep in mind if you’re in a batting team (first) and (if) you’re on top, then maybe it won’t be as easy at the end to score as much. So maybe take it on a little bit earlier," he added.

(With inputs from Agencies)