India’s batting superstar Virat Kohli once again proved why he remains one of the most dangerous batters in world cricket with his match-winning performance against New Zealand in the first ODI at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday (November 4).

The former India captain smashed 74 runs off just 51 balls and played a key role in India's five-wicket win over the Black Caps in the rain-affected match at Eden Park in Auckland. New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy was impressed by Kohli's batting, but he admitted that it was frustrating for the bowlers. Earlier, Virat Kohli gets special surprise at Eden Park ahead of 38th Birthday.

Virat Kohli steal the spotlight with match-winning knock against New Zealand

Virat Kohli made full use of the small boundaries at Eden Park in Auckland and punished the New Zealand bowlers with his attacking shots. The former Indian captain’s innings included 13 boundaries and one six as India chased down the revised target of 143 in just 22.4 overs.

The match was reduced to 32 overs per side after rain interruptions. Speaking after the match, Jacob Duffy admitted that a batter like Kohli can make things very difficult for the opposition, especially when the target is small. He explained that an aggressive start from a player of Kohli's quality can quickly finish the chase and put the bowling team under pressure.

Duffy was also impressed by the way Kohli handled the extra bounce at Eden Park. The Indian batter played his hook and pull shots confidently and also smashed powerful shots straight down the ground. The New Zealand pacer was not surprised by Kohli's performance.

Jacob Duffy praises Virat Kohli's ability to handle extra bounce

Duffy revealed that he had seen Kohli play similar shots during net sessions in Bengaluru. Actually, the two have shared the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) dressing room, and then the former Indian captain has been doing this consistently for many years.

Jacob Duffy said at the post-match press conference, as quoted by Revsportz, "Yeah, it was a bit annoying, wasn't it? Yeah, small targets like that—if you get a guy come out with that kind of intent to knock it off, it can just break the chase pretty easily. And he's a pretty good guy to do it."

"Yeah, quite impressive, wasn't he? He didn't struggle with the bounce; he got inside those hook shots and pull shots, and then he could whack you down the ground. No surprise, he's a good player. He's done it for a lot of years, and he did that to me in the Nets a lot in Bangalore. So, yeah." Amid this, Virat Kohli breaks Sachin Tendulkar's major records with batting brilliance vs NZ.

Jacob Duffy admits Virat Kohli has very few weaknesses in his game

When asked how New Zealand planned to stop Kohli, Duffy admitted that finding weaknesses in Kohli’s batting was not easy. He felt that it would be interesting to see whether Kohli would continue with the same attacking approach when India bats first or has a bigger target to chase.

However, the pacer did not want to reveal all of New Zealand's plans against the Indian batting superstar. Duffy further shared, “It would be interesting to see if he plays the same way when his team is batting first or has a bigger score on the board.”

He signed off by saying, "I don't want to reveal all our plans, but I did get some information while watching him in the nets in Bengaluru. To be fair, there are not many weaknesses in his game. He uses the pace really well on smaller grounds and also has the ability to hit the ball over the bowler's head."

🚨Jacob Duffy Press Conference: Pretty Hard to Stop Virat Kohli | 1st ODI @CricSubhayan @BLACKCAPS #ODI #NZvIND #PressConference https://t.co/5ZJ4au4qw2

— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) November 4, 2026