Virat Kohli scored his 54th international century, but New Zealand secured a historic ODI series win over India in the final match, overcoming a late fightback led by Kohli and Harshit Rana.
In the third and final match of the India vs New Zealand series, Virat Kohli scored a fighting century, but New Zealand completed a historic ODI series win with a 41-run win. The visitors posted 337 for 8 and sealed the three-match series 2–1.
Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bowl first. Arshdeep dismissed Henry Nicholls for a duck in the first over. Harshit Rana followed by removing Devon Conway for 5 in the second over. Rana later broke a growing stand by dismissing Will Young for 30.
However, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips dominated with centuries. Mitchell struck 137, while Phillips added 106, placing India under sustained pressure. Their partnership kept the run rate high and pushed New Zealand beyond the 330 mark. Mohammed Siraj removed Mitchell, while Arshdeep Singh restricted Phillips later in the innings. Those wickets prevented the total from moving closer to 370. New Zealand ended their innings with 337/8.
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India’s chase relied heavily on Kohli after early dismissals of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Kohli made 124 from 108 balls and controlled the innings under pressure. However, wickets kept falling at the other end. Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy added valuable runs, but the target remained out of reach.
The chase ended when Glenn Phillips produced a sharp direct hit to run out Kuldeep Yadav. This is India’s first-ever ODI series loss to New Zealand on home soil.
This one is going to hurt. It must hurt. #IndvNZ
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 18, 2026
Big milestone for New Zealand 🇳🇿, taking the ODI series 2-1 in India, the first time this has happened. Credit to them for some brilliant batting and pressure cricket. India showed heart with @imVkohli’s ton and strong moments from Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana and the squad.…
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) 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
Number 54 for Virat Kohli…
— Sandeep Lamichhane (@Sandeep25) January 18, 2026
What a playerrrr!!! 🙌🔥
An absolute legend of this game. He gave everything he had to take the team over the line. Bur God had different plans for today. Wasn’t that an incredible display of batting?👑🏏 @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/HUl6S54v0T
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