Team India have started 2026 on the worst possible note. They were heavy favourites to kick things off with a routinely common ODI series win at home against New Zealand but have received a reality check.
The odds were hugely in favour of India, so much so that before the series, Ravichandran Ashwin mentioned that a single win in the series for New Zealand would be as good as clinching the series. He wasn’t outright wrong in making that claim. After all, eight of the New Zealand players hadn’t played on Indian soil before this series. Five players had less than 10 matches of experience. In contrast, India’s top six have played a combined total of over 1000 ODIs. Unreal disparity. Yet, New Zealand continued with their recent tradition of hobbling India and creating history away from home.
Yet, it is T20s which are the flavour of the season. The 3-match ODI series had nothing major on the line. Hence, India rested the duo of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah as they prepare to play a huge role come the T20 World Cup 2026 next month. While India would’ve wanted to not receive a stain on their home record, they’d still be happy about a couple of things that came out of the series. On that note, let us look at a few things that came out as positive for India even in the 2-1 loss to the Kiwis.
Harshit Rana, the biggest positive
After Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, Harshit Rana was the one who received a generous amount of flak from fans in Indian cricket. The Indian team tried settling him in across all three formats and the tall pacer looked undercooked. But kudos to him that the 24-year-old has developed his game so much in such a short amount of time that Rana remains India’s highest wicket-taker in ODIs in the last one year. He has 26 wickets in 14 games, with the next-best pacer being Arshdeep Singh with 13 scalps.
India have been clear with Rana, as they aim to nurture him for the ODI World Cup 2027 which is in South Africa. We all knew he could handle the bat and thus India tried to give him chances. But in the New Zealand ODIs, Rana made a statement. If his vital cameo of 29 runs in the first ODI wasn’t enough, Rana almost pulled off a heist when he smashed his maiden List-A fifty in the series decider.
Coming to bat at number eight, Rana stitched a wondrous 99-run stand with Virat Kohli for the 7th wicket. Even Kohli, who was in his prime touch, took a backseat and applauded Rana’s hitting abilities as he cleared ropes for fun. For a moment, everyone thought that we’d see a history-making partnership here. Although he got holed out on the boundary on 52 off 43, Rana showed he’s India’s best bet when it comes to pace-bowling all-rounders. Yes, he’s no Hardik Pandya. But he’s Harshit Rana, who can wreak havoc with his 145+ kmph speeds and a willow wielder who shouldn’t be taken lightly.
India used Nitish Kumar Reddy…finally.
India finally treated Nitish Kumar Reddy like an actual all-rounder instead of a spare tyre in Indore, and the difference was obvious. After two games of half-measures, he was trusted with eight overs and a proper batting slot at No. 6. He didn’t pick a wicket, but on a flat Holkar pitch where Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips were in brutal touch, none of the Indian bowlers had answers.
With the bat, he gave a far clearer glimpse of his potential. Walking in with India under heavy pressure, Reddy played with composure and positive intent to score his maiden ODI fifty. Thank god, India sent him at number six and used the tricky situation to give him a chance. He looked comfortable against both pace and spin, using his reach well. For a young player in just his 4th ODI, the maturity was encouraging. If India want him to develop, he has to bat in proper situations and bowl meaningful overs in future series as well.
What about Virat Kohli?
Well, was this even surprising? Virat Kohli loves ODI cricket and he just continues to give. While Rohit Sharma had a series to forget, and that can happen, Kohli was in impeccable touch. Every time the ball hit his MRF willow, the sound rolled back the yesteryears. After he agonisingly missed a century in the series opener, Kohli finally put his bat up and signed off the rubber with an amazing hundred. No other player has more international tons against New Zealand than Kohli (10).
What was fascinating is how lethally Kohli now starts his innings. Even during his incredible peak after 2014, he took his time early on and then tried to dominate. But now, his strike rate in his first 10 balls has soared up and he enjoys his game to the fullest, notwithstanding the unreal consistency. Since 2025, only Daryl Mitchell (1113) has scored more ODI runs than Kohli’s 891. However, the Kiwi star has played 4 more matches than the former Indian captain. In this period, Kohli has managed runs at an average of 68.53 and his strike rate of 98.45 has shouted ‘domination’, which India would love to see him stretch till the ODI World Cup 2027.
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