VADODARA: Indian bowlers, especially pacers Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj, bowled probing line and length but Daryl Mitchell struck a fine counter-attaching half-century to guide New Zealand to 300 for 8 in the first One-day International here on Sunday.
Harshit (2/65) got rid of openers Devon Conway (56 of 67 balls) and Henry Nicholls (62 off 69 balls) in quick succession to break a 117-run partnership at the top, which had started looking threatening.
Siraj (2/40) accounted for the dangerous Will Young (12) and late-order batter Zak Foulkes (1), but Kiwi stalwart Mitchell played an innings of substance, scoring 84 off 71 balls, studded with five boundaries and three sixes.
He shared small but useful partnerships with Mitchell Hay, skipper Michael Bracewell and newcomer Kristian Clarke to give the visitors a sizeable total.
Mitchell was finally dismissed by Prasidh Krishna (2/60), who also had two wickets to show for his efforts.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 300 for 8 in 50 overs (Devon Conway 56, Henry Nicholls 62; Daryl Mitchell 84; Harshit Rana 2/65,Mohammed Siraj 2/40, Prasidh Krishna 2/60).