At Eden Park in Auckland on November 4, 2026, India defeated New Zealand by five wickets in the rain-curtailed first ODI of the 2026-27 series. Rain revised the contest to 32 overs per side, and New Zealand were bowled out for 185. India then chased down a revised target of 143 with 56 balls to spare, with Virat Kohli contributing 74 runs to the successful pursuit.

Arshdeep Singh was the pick of India's bowlers, finishing with figures of 4/70 from ten overs. Gurnoor Brar also impressed with 3/44 from 9.2 overs, while Anshul Kamboj returned 2/22 from 10 overs and was named Player of the Match. Reviewing the performance, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja offered his assessment of Arshdeep's spell, noting that the pacer had been excellent for most of his outing before the final over changed the picture. Arshdeep had dismissed four New Zealand batters and conceded 40-odd runs before the final over arrived. However, Blair Tickner smashed him for three sixes in that last over, with Arshdeep conceding 23 runs in it.

"I would call him slightly greedy. He himself said that as well. If you remove his last over, he had dismissed four batters before that and had given 40-odd runs. He got slightly greedy for the fifth wicket in the last over," Jadeja said on Sony Sports Network.

Arshdeep himself had indicated after the match that his favourite wicket would have been the fifth one, suggesting he was actively targeting it in that final over. With the four-wicket haul, Arshdeep became only the third Indian pace bowler to take a four-wicket return in an ODI on New Zealand soil, joining Javagal Srinath and Mohammed Shami in that elite group.

What did Jadeja say about Arshdeep's value to India's ODI attack?

Despite the expensive final over, Jadeja was clear that Arshdeep's overall contribution to India's ODI bowling attack is significant. The former India batter highlighted the advantage of having a quality left-arm seamer operating alongside Jasprit Bumrah, arguing that the combination raises the competitive standard within the squad.

"It happens. It's natural, but Arshdeep Singh is showing that he can play in ODIs as well, which I believe is a very good thing when a left-arm seamer gets added to this attack with (Jasprit) Bumrah. The competition has increased a lot, which is very good for India," Jadeja elaborated.

How did Jadeja assess Anshul Kamboj's performance compared to his England Test debut?

Anshul Kamboj's figures of 2/22 from 10 overs earned him the Player of the Match award in the first ODI at Auckland. Jadeja acknowledged that Kamboj had faced criticism following his Test debut against England in 2025, when concerns were raised about his pace and the number of no-balls he bowled. However, Jadeja pointed to a clear improvement in the seamer's showing on Wednesday. Jadeja noted that Kamboj had come into that England Test after a heavy workload of cricket, which may have contributed to his fatigue and the no-ball issues. On Wednesday's performance.

"He bowled extremely well. The vision everyone had was that he didn't have pace when he played in England and was bowling a lot of no-balls. I think he had come after playing a lot of cricket then. So a guy also gets tired. It's not that easy. Then he was playing for the first time, but the consistency and the slight increase in his pace he showed today (Wednesday), if we talk about the accuracy amongst the four bowlers, it's Anshul Kamboj," Jadeja added.