Ambati Rayudu, former India batter, has lauded Virat Kohli for the way he “showed off” by dominating the New Zealand bowling attack on a difficult pitch in Auckland. India won the first ODI of the five-game series at Eden Park on November 4, 2026.

New Zealand batted first after losing the toss, and thanks to Tim Seifert (38), Daryl Mitchell (28), and Glenn Phillips’ (30) useful runs and a quick 34 by Blair Tickner, they managed 185 in 40.2 overs. Arshdeep Singh picked up four wickets for India, Gurnoor Brar claimed three, and Anshul Kamboj ended with impressive figures of 2/22 from 10 overs.

India lost Rohit Sharma for a duck, but then Shubman Gill anchored one end with 37 runs, while Virat Kohli took the attack to New Zealand batters in the powerplay overs. India’s innings was twice interrupted by rain, and ultimately, the Men in Blue were asked to chase 143 runs in 32 balls.

Kohli added 113 runs with Gill for the second wicket, and he himself hammered 74 in 51 balls with 13 fours and one six. India won the game by 5 wickets in 22.4 overs.

Ambati Rayudu was discussing the Indian chase and was mightily impressed by how Virat Kohli took the chase head-on on a pitch that had movement and bounce from the go.

“As a batter, you know that the wicket was very, very tough to bat on. The world No. 1-ranked batter found it tough, and Kohli showed what he is all about. It’s amazing to bat like that in the first game of the series. I am sure Shubman Gill, standing at the other end, even if he wanted to dominate the proceedings, I don’t think at the moment he could have; he would have watched the King bat and given it to him," Rayudu said on Cricbuzz.

Rayudu stated that Kohli, knowing that this was his final time in New Zealand, showed off all his shots and enthralled the fans in Auckland.

“He showed off today; it’s unbelievable. I think only 2 or 3 batters in the world can do that on this surface, and he has every right to show off. This is a day he knows that he can show everyone what the difference or the gap is between him and all the others," Rayudu added.

Thanks to this knock, Kohli now has 8741 runs in ODI run chases, going past Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 8720 runs. Kohli also completed 13000 runs in ODIs at No. 3, becoming the first batter to achieve this feat.