TECHNICALLY, this match was in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest and most populous city, but it could so easily have been in Ahmedabad. Except for the weather -- cold and damp and murky and gloomy -- and the pitch, bouncy and pacy and with plenty of joy for seam bowlers. There was a decidedly Indian touch to Wednesday’s first OneDay International at Eden Park. An overwhelming majority of the 30,000-plus fans that braved the elements and made ‘New Zealand’s National Stadium’ a beehive of energy and electricity were of Indian origin, and a good four-fifths of the crammed, cramped press enclosure was populated by the Indian media. Over the years, almost every cricket ground in the world has become a home away from home for the Indian team, but that found greater resonance on Wednesday than usual. Just last week, the Indian diaspora had watched Shreyas Iyer’s men go down to the Kiwis in the fourth T20 International, but it did little to dampen their enthusiasm as they lined up to welcome the ODI series. After all, they were here for Shubman Gill’s side as a whole, true, but they were also here more for Virat Kohli and, to a slightly lesser extent, Rohit Sharma. These two stalwarts, the bulwarks of Indian cricket for nearly two decades, are on the last legs of their illustrious careers. But these are strong and sturdy legs with plenty of miles still left, not unsteady, tottering appendages which refuse to heed the bidding of the mind. Kohli and Rohit are batting as well as they ever have, even though they now play only 50-over cricket internationally. Kohli has been an epitome of fitness for nearly a decade and a half, Rohit has turned the clock back as he also targets the 2027 World Cup in the Africas. To have them at his disposal, and to be able to dip into their vast reservoir of knowledge and wisdom and smarts and nous, is a singular privilege Gill must be grateful for.

 

Rohit didn’t have a great game with the bat, dismissed without scoring, but by then, he had left an indelible mark with a stunning pick-up-and-throw on the run to send Daryl Mitchell, a perennial thorn in India’s side, packing. The spontaneous outpouring of delight within the Indian ranks wasn’t just because the Mitchell threat had been neutralised; it also portrayed collective joy at the most popular member of the unit producing a piece of magic almost unexpectedly. The Kohli magic in the field is a lot more common, but even so, the catch he took at second slip, effortlessly plucking an edge from Nathan Smith millimetres off the turf, was little short of special. Clearly, age has done little to dim his reflexes but as it turned out, that slice of fielding brilliance was merely the appetiser before the main course. Kohli gifted himself an early birthday present – he turned 38 on Thursday – with a subliminal, brutally beautiful knock to reduce what could have been a tricky chase into singularly oneway traffic. New Zealand’s tall and big quicks tested out the not inconsiderable bounce and Kohli responded with brazen aggression, pulling ferociously and with complete control. It’s not often that one speaks of Kohli and power in the same breath, but he struck the ball really hard on Wednesday. Through the open press box windows, you could hear the clap of thunder as bat met ball, and sent it screaming to the fence repeatedly. Kohli’s 74 still played second fiddle to Anshul Kamboj’s two for 22, but by the end, the Haryana pacer was an almost forgotten entity. Without intending to, Virat Kohli can do that, you know.