Virat Kohli has accumulated 596 runs from 13 innings in ODIs played on New Zealand soil, averaging 49.66 with a strike rate of 91.41. That record includes one century and four fifties, placing him among the more consistent Indian batters to have toured the country. The figures come into focus as India prepare for a five-match ODI series that opens at Eden Park, Auckland, on November 4 and concludes at Mount Maunganui on November 15.
Kohli’s overall ODI career average stands at 58.78, with a career strike rate of 94.36. His aggregate in New Zealand-specific conditions is therefore a shade below his career norm, though the 49.66 average still reflects a batter who has performed with regularity on those pitches. Across all ODIs against New Zealand as opponents, home or away, Kohli has scored 1,897 runs from 36 matches at 57.48, with seven hundreds and 10 fifties to his name.
Rohit Sharma and Kohli have both been retained in India’s squad for the series, while Shubman Gill captains the side for the first two matches, with Shreyas Iyer taking over for matches three to five.
What does Kohli’s only ODI century in New Zealand look like?
Kohli’s solitary hundred on New Zealand soil came at Napier on January 19, 2014, when he struck 123 off 111 balls. That innings remains his highest score in ODIs played within the country and is the standout knock of his New Zealand record. A few days later, at Hamilton on January 22, 2014, he followed it with 78 off 65 balls, an innings that contained seven fours and two sixes and was scored at a strike rate of 120.
At Auckland on January 25, 2014, Kohli contributed 62 off 70 balls to give India a solid platform in that match. Those three innings across Napier, Hamilton and Auckland in January 2014 account for a significant portion of his overall tally in the country. In Auckland across three ODIs, his aggregate reads 59 runs at an average of 19, indicating that the New Zealand city has been a relatively leaner venue for him compared to Napier or Hamilton.
How did Kohli perform in the recent ODI series against New Zealand?
In the three-match ODI series against New Zealand in January 2026, Kohli scored 240 runs with a highest score of 124, underlining that his form against this opponent has remained productive in recent bilateral contests. He has been in fine form in the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies, scoring a brilliant unbeaten 139 in the first game in Thiruvananthapuram.
His overall ODI tally stands at 15,109 runs, and he has registered 293 innings in the format with 55 centuries and 79 fifties at a career average of 58.78 and a strike rate of 94.36. Among the milestones that sit alongside those headline numbers, Kohli has also recorded a highest score of 183 in the format.
