Ind vs NZ ODI series: Chasemaster Kohli begins birthday celebrations early

• Kohli surpasses Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the highest run-scorer in ODI chases, with 8,741 runs.

• India’s young pace attack delivers, with Arshdeep Singh taking four wickets and Gurnoor Brar claiming three.

• Shubman Gill praises Kohli’s composed 74 as India negotiate rain interruptions to secure a five-wicket victory.

The 38th birthday celebrations of Virat Kohli, pardon the cliché, began early for the master batter in Auckland on Wednesday. While his 74 off 51 balls did not add to his tally of 55 ODI centuries, given that rain had revised India's target to 143 in just 22.4 overs, the manner in which he approached the chase was a lesson in negotiating adverse conditions.

The number-crunchers remain on alert whenever Kohli walks out to bat these days, looking for another landmark that could be within reach — much like they did for his idol Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli initially played a waiting game to familiarise himself with the conditions after play resumed, with the New Zealand bowlers extracting some extra bounce and movement. But once he settled in, he opened up to surpass the Little Master and become the highest run-scorer in ODI history while batting second, further strengthening his reputation as the format's greatest chasemaster.

The numbers make for compelling reading. Kohli, now on 8,741 runs, has overtaken Tendulkar's tally of 8,720 while batting second. He reached the landmark in 169 innings across 180 matches, while Tendulkar needed 232 innings in 242 matches to compile his tally.

Kohli's average in these situations stands at 66.21, considerably higher than Tendulkar's 42.33. He has also struck 30 centuries and 46 half-centuries while batting second, compared to Tendulkar's 17 hundreds and 52 fifties. Kohli's strike rate of 95.03 is also ahead of Tendulkar's 88.44 — though comparisons between the two eras are, as one knows, fraught with caveats.

The heartening aspect of India's five-wicket victory, which gives the Men in Blue early momentum with a 1-0 lead in the series, was the all-round nature of the performance, particularly the contribution of the young fast-bowling contingent.

Captain Shubman Gill had said on the eve of the match that India were looking for tall pacers capable of hitting the deck hard with an eye on next year's ICC World Cup. The strapping Gurnoor Brar certainly offered some encouraging signs, returning figures of 3/44 in 9.2 overs. Anshul Kamboj, who could do with an extra yard of pace, stood out with his accuracy and was named Player of the Match for his 2/22, while Arshdeep Singh chipped in with a four-wicket haul.

India's chase was interrupted twice by rain, resulting in a reduction of the overs and a revised target. Gill acknowledged that the changing conditions posed a challenge for batters who had already settled at the crease, but said Kohli's innings helped India negotiate the situation.

"It's never easy when you are set and then it rains and the wicket gets a little bit quicker. It gets a little bit more nippy after the rain. So the target was reduced and we were just trying to play our normal cricket. I think the way Virat bhai batted made things a lot easier for us," said the skipper, who contributed a mature 37 during his partnership with Kohli.

With the second ODI scheduled to be played in Wellington, Gill said India were not looking to make any major changes after the opening victory.

"Nothing really. If we are able to replicate our performance, it's all about consistency for us. If we are able to do the same thing over and over again, I think we'll be in a great space," he said.