A moment from the first ODI between India and New Zealand in Vadodara caught attention on social media. Former India captain Rohit Sharma was seen talking to Kuldeep Yadav over a fielding lapse at the BCA Stadium on January 11, with fans saying he was taking the spinner’s “class” in a calm but strict manner.
Chasing the target of 301 runs in the first match in Vadodara, Team India started the ODI series against New Zealand with a win. The Indian batsmen played well as a group, but the bowlers need to improve before the next ODI. Kuldeep’s performance was disappointing due to his poor fielding.
Rohit Sharma once again scolded Kuldeep Yadav during New Zealand ODI
Rohit Sharma was once again seen guiding Kuldeep Yadav on the field. This kind of interaction between the two is nothing new, with fans often enjoying a mix of advice and mild scolding from Rohit aimed at sharpening up the wrist spinner’s game.
During the New Zealand innings, Rohit was seen giving clear and firm instructions to Kuldeep Yadav, using hand gestures to explain his plan. Kuldeep responded immediately and dismissed Glenn Phillips.
Rohit Sharma was seen taking Kuldeep Yadav’s class again on the field pic.twitter.com/124T4Jgngn
– Kusha Sharma (@kushacritic) 11 January 2026
Phillips pushed forward but the ball hit the edge of his bat and Shreyas Iyer took an easy catch at cover. Phillips was out after scoring 12 runs in 19 balls, giving Kuldeep the first wicket of the match. The breakthrough came around 33.2 overs, when New Zealand were 170/4.
Rohit Sharma left disappointed after being out for 26 runs.
After New Zealand scored 300/8 in 50 overs, India got off to a great start in their chase with Rohit Sharma attacking from the start. He looked fluent early on but was out in the ninth over.
Rohit scored 26 runs off 29 balls, which included two sixes and three fours, before India lost their first wicket for 39 runs. He tried to hit a fuller ball from Kyle Jamieson, but the shot took a thick edge. Michael Bracewell reached under the ball at extra cover and completed the catch.
Despite getting out early, Rohit has been in strong form in the recent ODI series. He won the Player of the Series award against Australia after scoring 202 runs in three innings, with his best score being 121 not out.
After this he scored 57, 14 and 75 runs in the ODI series against South Africa. Rohit also impressed on his home comeback and scored 155 for Mumbai against Sikkim in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket during New Zealand’s innings in Vadodara.
Kuldeep Yadav bowled 9 overs and took the wicket of Glenn Phillips. He conceded 52 runs and finished with an economy rate of 5.78.
For New Zealand, Daryl Mitchell scored 84 runs in 71 balls with the help of three sixes and five fours. Openers Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls also scored half-centuries and added 117 runs for the first wicket.
Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna took two wickets each. India entered the series after winning their previous ODI series against South Africa 2–1 and have not lost a home ODI series to New Zealand since 1988. New Zealand come after three consecutive clean sweeps in ODIs.
Also read: ‘Rohit Sharma is elderly, so…’: Yuzvendra Chahal breaks silence on India legend’s violent actions
