Sports/Alive News: India suffered a heavy 0-5 defeat against New Zealand in the first international friendly of their tour on Thursday. The match was played at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, where the hosts dominated from the beginning and scored three goals in the first half and two after the break.

New Zealand opened the scoring in the fifth minute when India’s defender Bijoy Varghese accidentally put the ball into his own net. The hosts extended their lead through Jesse Randall, who scored twice in the 34th and 43rd minutes to make it 3-0 before half-time.

New Zealand score twice after the break

India struggled to stop New Zealand’s attacking moves in the second half as well. Chris Wood scored the fourth goal in the 57th minute, further strengthening the hosts’ position.

Lachlan Bayliss added the fifth goal in the 74th minute to complete New Zealand’s 5-0 victory.

Indian goalkeeper Vishal Kaith made several important saves during the match, but could not prevent the hosts from scoring five goals.

India to face New Zealand again on November 15

India will get another opportunity to improve their performance when the two teams meet in the second friendly on November 15 in Christchurch. The Indian side will look to make a stronger comeback after the disappointing result in Auckland.