New Zealand ended up making a close contest in the end, as they lost by four wickets in the penultimate over. Jamieson starred with a four-wicket haul, conceding only 41 runs in his 10-over quota. Adithya and Kristian picked up one wicket apiece. However, both of them proved expensive. Bracewell ended up wicketless in the eight overs he bowled.

Speaking about how the match panned out, the tourists scored 300/8 after being put in to bat. Daryl Mitchell top-scored with 84 off 71 while Devon Conway (56 off 67) and Henry Nicholls (62 off 69) also registered half-centuries. Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna picked up a couple of wickets apiece.

Virat Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 93 off 91 with eight fours and one six. The Men in Blue lost their way for a brief phase before pulling things back and securing the win. Meanwhile, the second and third ODIs will be played in Rajkot and Indore on January 14 and January 18, respectively

Coming to Bengal's bowling unit as of now, the renowned trio of Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Shahbaz Ahmed lead the team in terms of prominent players. All three were a part of Bengal's squad for the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.