IND vs NZ, 3rd ODI 2025-26, Highlights: Virat Kohli’s century goes in vain as New Zealand seal their first-ever ODI series win in India.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 337/8 (Daryl Mitchell 137, Glenn Phillips 106, Arshdeep Singh 3/63) beat India 296 (Virat Kohli 124, Nitish Reddy 53, Kristian Clarke 3/54) by 41 runs. NZ won the series 2-1.
New Zealand won their first ODI bilateral series in India following a thumping 41-run win at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. The win came on the back of stupendous centuries by Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips that helped the Kiwis post a massive 337 in the decider.
Even a Kohli special and Harshit Rana’s blitz couldn’t save India from a series defeat at home.
Talking Points: India spinners fail in middle overs
India were off to a decent start in their bowling effort with the first powerplay going their way. However, it was the middle-overs where New Zealand managed to take the game and the ineffectiveness of the spinners was to blame.
The spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav went for 89 in 12 overs and picked just one wicket. In overs 11-40, they didn’t pick a single wicket. On the other hand, New Zealand spinner Jayden Lennox snapped two crucial wickets (KL Rahul and Jadeja) in the same phase, ensuring upperhand.
Read More: IND vs NZ, 2025-26, 2nd ODI: Daryl Mitchell guides NZ to victory; scoreline level 1-1
Daryl Mitchell continues his juggernaut
India, after opting to bowl first, got off to the best possible start. In the very first over, a returning Arshdeep Singh scalped Henry Nicholls for a first-ball duck before Harshit Rana removed Devon Conway for the third successive time in the series.
Daryl Mitchell who already scored a match-winning century in the previous game steadied the ship with another in-form batter, Will Young. The duo added 55 for the third wicket before Harshit broke the stand by dismissing Young. It was all New Zealand in the second mandatory powerplay.
In that phase of 30 overs, the visitors added 191 runs, courtesy of a batting masterclass from Daryl Mitchell (137). He brought up his fourth century against India with Glenn Phillips giving him great support. The latter got to his second ODI century and it came off just 83 deliveries. Together, they added 219 runs. Their partnership was finally broken when Phillips fell to Arshdeep for a well-made 106.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, New Zealand added 99 runs in the last 10 overs with skipper Michael Bracewell playing a fine little cameo of 28. Ultimately, the visitors set a monumental target of 338 runs for India.
Read More: Are India carrying Ravindra Jadeja in the ODI format?
Kohli’s record ton in vain; NZ seal series
Chasing a tall total, the start to it was not an auspicious one for the hosts. Rohit Sharma, who survived a dropped catch off Zakary Foulkes, couldn’t ride on his luck as he perished playing a ‘nothing’ shot in the same over. Shubman Gill couldn’t convert his start either, while Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were both dismissed in quick succession.
In the 13th over, India were reeling at 71/4, with a monumental task ahead of them. Nitish Reddy, who is yet to make a mark in ODIs, joined Virat Kohli. They added some sort of stability into the innings. The former notched up his maiden ODI fifty, but soon fell in an attempt to up the ante. Kohli was his usual best in their stand of 88 for the fifth wicket.
The experienced Ravindra Jadeja continued his poor run of form and India needed 160 runs in the last 18 overs, following his dismissal. All seemed lost at that stage. However, Harshit Rana and Kohli kept them in the hunt with their 69-ball 99-run partnership. The pacer reached his maiden ODI fifty in the process.
Kohli reached an unprecedented 54th ODI ton and got out on 124, ending India’s hopes for an unlikely win.
Read More: Virat ‘Run Machine’ Kohli gets fifth fifty-plus score in five straight ODI innings
Statistical Highlights from India vs New Zealand, Third ODI, Indore
- Arshdeep Singh has the best strike rate (26.31) in the powerplay (overs 1-10) in ODIs for India from January 2021. (Min 10 wickets)
- Harshit Rana dismissed Devon Conway three times in as many games in this ODI series
- Daryl Mitchell now has the second-most centuries (4) for a NZ batter against India in ODIs. Nathan Astle leads the list with 5 tons
- Daryl Mitchell & Glenn Phillips produced a 219-run stand for the fourth wicket. It becomes NZ’s second-highest partnership for any wicket against India in ODIs
- Daryl Mitchell produced his fourth 130+ knock against India in ODIs. It is the most number of 130+ knocks by an individual batter against India in this format. Sanath Jayasuriya had three such innings against India in 50-over cricket
- Daryl Mitchell scored 352 runs against India in this three-match ODI series. This is the highest aggregate for a NZ batter in a three-match ODI series. Martin Guptill had held the record prior to this, with 330 runs against England in 2013
- Daryl Mitchell averages 74.1 against India in ODIs. It is the best batting average for a NZ batter against India in ODIs. (Min 500 runs)
- Kuldeep Yadav went for 182 runs at an ER of 7.28 in this series. These are the third-worst economy figures for an India spinner in a bilateral ODI series (minimum 100 runs conceded)
- Virat Kohli brought up his 73rd fifty-plus score in a chasing cause in ODIs
- Virat Kohli brought up his 29th hundred in a chasing cause in ODIs
- Virat Kohli becomes the batter with most hundreds (7) against NZ in ODIs. He overtook both Ricky Ponting & Virender Sehwag who have 6 centuries each against NZ in the said format
- Virat Kohli now has the most runs (12676) for a no. 3 batter in ODIs. He overtook Ricky Ponting who has 12662 runs at this position in this format.
What’s Next
India may have lost their first series of the year but the focus now shifts to the T20 internationals and the subsequent World Cup. The first of the five T20Is will commence at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur on January 21.
Top Twitter Reactions from IND vs NZ, 3rd ODI, Indore, 2025-26
2016 was domination.
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) January 18, 2026
2026 is legacy.
Chasemaster still writing history. ✍️#ViratKohli #INDvNZ
Kohli is Unstoppable. Batting as good as we’ve ever seen him bat in his favourite format.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 18, 2026
Virat GOAT Kohli 🙌😇 #IndvNZ
Well done, New Zealand. Their discipline and execution of the plan is something we can all learn from.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 18, 2026
Phenomenal effort from NZ! Young team, 0-1 behind in the series but their plans, execution, fielding and the ability to stay in the game even when they were behind stood out. What a series Daryl Mitchell has had! New Zealand once again proved to be India’s bogey team. #INDvNZ
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) January 18, 2026
#ViratKohli. 54 ODI centuries. The mind boggles.
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 18, 2026
Virat kohli has a zidd to prove his critics wrong.. will keep scoring 100s.. king for a reason.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 18, 2026
I have seen Virat Kohli play throughout his career and his enthusiasm and commitment hasn't dimmed one bit. And like most days, he was extraordinary today.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 18, 2026
Read More: IND vs NZ, 2025-26, 1st ODI: India almost mess up 301 chase, but prevail in the end; go 1-0 up
