India began the ODI leg of their New Zealand tour on a positive note after securing a 3-2 victory in the preceding T20I series. The opening one-day international took place in Auckland on November 4, where the visitors chased a rain-revised target of 143 under the DLS method after opting to bowl first. The five-wicket victory handed India a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, with the second ODI scheduled to take place in Wellington on November 7.

Shubman Gill is leading India in the first three ODIs before Shreyas Iyer takes charge for the remaining two matches. Looking back at the T20I series, Gill praised the team’s leadership and ability to recover from difficult situations, highlighting how those performances helped India build momentum.

“I think he led the T20 series beautifully. You know, playing in a country like New Zealand and winning the first two matches is never easy, and even more so given the kind of situation we were in in the first and second T20s. Making a comeback from there, you know, those are the kind of matches that completely change the momentum. Now the momentum is with us, having won that series, and a lot of our boxes are ticked. New Zealand will look to come hard at us, which I think we are well prepared for,” Shubman Gill said in a video uploaded by the BCCI.

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The Indian captain also arrived in New Zealand ahead of the main squad to get additional training time, particularly with the upcoming Test series in mind. Having never played a Test match in the country, Gill wanted to understand how the red ball behaves in local conditions. Although he has represented India A in New Zealand, the early preparation offered him an opportunity to work on the technical adjustments required for international red-ball cricket.

The ongoing ODI series carries significance beyond the immediate contest, as India and New Zealand look to prepare for next year’s ICC Men’s ODI World Cup. Gill believes the timing of the tour makes it particularly valuable because the playing conditions could closely resemble those expected during the global tournament.

Traditionally, India’s tours of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa take place around December or January. However, the ODI World Cup will be played during October and November, making the current series an important opportunity to understand conditions during that period.

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“The conditions that we’re going to get here are going to be a lot more similar to the ones that we’re going to get in the World Cup, especially playing here in early November. Usually, whenever we play in South Africa or in New Zealand or in Australia, we play around December or January, whereas the World Cup is in October and November. So I think the conditions are going to be a lot more similar, and it’s going to be a really good experience for us,” Shubman Gill said, as quoted by the BCCI.

With valuable preparation opportunities and a competitive series underway, India will look to use the New Zealand tour to strengthen their combinations and build towards the 2027 World Cup.