New Zealand vs India Live Score: India in New Zealand, 5 ODI Series, 2026 Live Updates and Ball-By-Ball Commentary

Good news from Hamilton! We finally have a start time. The toss is scheduled for 7.32 am IST, with the first ball set to be bowled at 8 am IST, provided there is no further rain.

The players are yet to make an appearance, so it looks like neither team has arrived at the ground just yet. The match officials are here, though, and are in discussion with the head of the ground staff as the mop-up operations continue.

An opportunity to break the drought - One of the biggest positives for India so far has been the way their relatively inexperienced pace attack has outbowled the Kiwi quicks in their own backyard. It is an encouraging sign with the ODI World Cup on the horizon, as India continue to assess their options and build towards that tournament. The Men in Blue have lost ODI series on their tours of England and Australia over the past year, as well as on their previous two trips to New Zealand. They last won an ODI series in New Zealand in 2019, and this is a golden opportunity to end that wait and make a statement on foreign soil.

Past glories, present pressure - In the City of Future, New Zealand will be looking to draw on their past to get things right in the present. They have won their last 12 completed ODIs at Seddon Park, which is a remarkable record, and they also have another impressive streak to protect, having won their last 11 bilateral ODI series at home. More than anything, Mitchell Santner will want the toss to go his way to start things on a positive note, having won just 1 of the 7 tosses so far, with all of them falling tails. But as the home captain, he doesn’t get to call, so he can only hope the coin falls kindly this time.

Greetings, everyone, from a wet Hamilton - Auckland, Wellington and now Hamilton. The rain has followed these two teams throughout the series, and there was more overnight rain, which continued into the morning.

... MATCH DAY ...

The series moves to Hamilton - The action moves to Hamilton for the third ODI, with India just one win away from taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. New Zealand, meanwhile, are staring at a must-win encounter and will be desperate to turn things around in front of their home crowd. The first two games have been heavily influenced by the weather, with rain forcing both contests to be decided by the DLS method. However, India have made better use of the conditions, particularly with their seam attack, while New Zealand's batting has struggled to get going. The hosts will hope for a more favourable surface and a longer uninterrupted contest, while India will be keen to maintain their winning momentum and wrap up the series early. New Zealand need their batting to click - The biggest concern for New Zealand has been their inability to put together a substantial batting effort. They have been bowled out for 185 and 134 in the first two games, with the top order struggling to cope with India's disciplined seam attack. Tim Seifert and the experienced Daryl Mitchell have shown glimpses of their capabilities, but the hosts need greater contributions from the likes of Glenn Phillips, Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner. Mitchell's half-century in Wellington was a positive, but he lacked sufficient support at the other end. The conditions have certainly not made life easy for the batters, but New Zealand will need to find a way to counter India's hard lengths and movement with the new ball. They cannot afford to keep losing wickets in clusters, particularly against an attack that has looked increasingly confident. Their bowling, on the other hand, has given them reasons to be optimistic. Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson were excellent in Wellington, while Santner's experience and Phillips' ability to offer a few overs could prove valuable in the middle phase. The challenge will be to complement that bowling effort with a much-improved batting display. India look for a more complete performance - India have had plenty of positives to take from the opening two games, with their seamers doing an excellent job of exploiting the conditions. Gurnoor Brar has emerged as a key figure, making a strong impression with his ability to extract bounce and trouble the batters, while Arshdeep Singh and Anshul Kamboj have provided valuable support. Axar Patel's control and ability to contribute with the ball also give India a useful option in the middle overs. With the bat, though, there is still room for improvement. Virat Kohli's fluent knock in the opening game demonstrated his ability to take charge of a chase, but the visitors' top order was tested in Wellington, where KL Rahul had to shoulder much of the responsibility while Shreyas Iyer's short-ball weakness was on display once again. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will be keen to spend more time at the crease, while Kohli will once again be central to India's batting plans. The visitors have the depth and experience to adapt, but they will want a more convincing batting display rather than relying on their bowlers to do the bulk of the work. Weather watch - The concern is once again the weather. Forecasts point towards a wet matchday in Hamilton, with showers expected around the scheduled start and further interruptions possible throughout the afternoon and evening. Rain chances are particularly high around the start of play, with only brief windows of improvement expected. After two successive DLS-decided contests, another weather-affected encounter cannot be ruled out. Team form (Last 5 completed ODIs, recent first) - NZ - LLLWW | IND - WWLWW. Can the Kiwis keep the series alive? New Zealand have plenty to play for and will need their batters to rise to the occasion if they are to challenge India. Their bowling attack has shown that it can make life difficult for the visitors, but they need greater support from the top order. India, meanwhile, have looked the more settled outfit and will back their pace attack to deliver once again, although a stronger batting effort would make them even more formidable. Seddon Park could offer a different challenge from the first two venues, but the weather threatens to remain the biggest talking point. If the conditions allow a full contest, an intriguing battle awaits, with India having the opportunity to seal the series and New Zealand fighting to keep their hopes alive.