Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli still delivering, says Mitchell Santner

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has praised Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on the eve of the first ODI against India at Eden Park in Auckland. He said both continue to deliver strong performances even though they are in the late stages of their careers, Tribune India reports.

The five-match New Zealand vs India ODI Series 2026 starts on Wednesday, 4 November, with the first ODI at 7:30 AM IST. Santner also said his side have already discussed how to bowl at India’s batting line-up.

What Santner said

Santner said New Zealand want to keep the Indian batters under pressure for longer periods when the pitch offers help to the bowlers. He added that the bowling plans have already been talked through.

He also expects Rohit and Kohli to bring strong crowds, noting that attendance at the T20Is was already encouraging.

After the T20I series

India lost the last two T20Is, the second of them by 7 wickets on 1 November when New Zealand’s 195/3 overhauled India’s 191/8, and so finished the preceding series 3-2 after leading 3-0.

In ODIs against New Zealand, India have won 63 of 123, New Zealand 52, with one tie and seven no-results.

Schedule and other talking points

The second ODI is on Saturday, 7 November at Hnry Stadium in Wellington. The third follows on Tuesday, 10 November, the fourth on Friday, 13 November, and the series ends in Tauranga on 15 November.

Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara told JioStar he expects a 2-2 split, with New Zealand holding a slight edge. His reasoning is that India will be without Shubman Gill and KL Rahul for the last two matches.

Business Standard reports that Nitish Kumar Reddy will stay with India’s squad for the opener before joining India A.