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Hamilton, Feb 5: Ross Taylor and Tom Latham played knocks of 109 and 69, respectively, as New Zealand defeated India by four wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series here at the Seddon Park on Wednesday.

Chasing 348, New Zealand got off to a steady start as openers Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls put on 85 runs for the first wicket, however, India finally got the breakthrough in the 16th over as Shardul Thakur dismissed Guptill (32).

Tom Blundell and Nicholls then put on 24 runs for the second wicket, but their vigil came to an end in the 20th over as Kuldeep Yadav had Blundell (9) stumped at the hands of wicket-keeper KL Rahul, reducing Kiwis to 109/2.

Nicholls then retrieved the innings for the hosts as he found support in Ross Taylor. The duo mixed caution with aggression to stitch together a partnership of 62 runs. But with their back against the wall, skipper Kohli lifted the side up as he ran out Nicholls (78) in the 29th over, reducing New Zealand to 171/3.

Skipper Tom Latham, came out to bat next, and he increased the tempo of the Kiwi innings. He took a special liking to Kuldeep and kept on sweeping him to pick easy boundaries on the legside.

Taylor and Latham put on a stand of 138 runs to take Kiwis closer to victory. But with 39 runs away from the target, Kuldeep dismissed Latham (69) to revive India's hopes of making a comeback.

Mohammed Shami removed Jimmy Neesham (9) in the 46th over while Colin de Grandhomme (1) was sent packing via a run-out to send cat among the pigeons in the Kiwi camp. In the end, Mitchell Santner and Taylor took the hosts over the line by four wickets and with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul's knocks of 103 and 88, respectively, helped India post 347/4 in the allotted twenty overs.

After being put in to bat, India got off to a quickfire start as openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal put on 50 runs. Colin de Grandhomme finally provided the breakthrough to the Kiwis as he sent Shaw (20) back to the pavilion in the eighth over.

Agarwal (32) was also dismissed soon after by Tim Southee and the Men in Blue were reduced to 54/2 in the ninth over.

Skipper Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then retrieved the innings for the visitors as the duo put on 102 runs for the third wicket. Kohli brought up his 58th half-century in the 28th over.

Ish Sodhi got the crucial breakthrough of Kohli (51) in the 29th over as he clean bowled him to reduce India to 156/3. However, Iyer continued to march on and brought up his maiden ODI century in the 43rd over.

KL Rahul, who came in to bat at number five provided the much-needed impetus to the innings. He along with Iyer put on a stand of 136 runs for the fourth wicket.

Iyer (103) was finally sent back to the pavilion by Southee in the 46th over, reducing India to 292/4.

In the final overs, Rahul and Kedar Jadhav hammered the Kiwi players to take India's score past the 340-run mark. Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 348/6 (Ross Taylor 109*, Henry Nicholls 78, Kuldeep Yadav 2-84) defeat India 347/4 (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88*, Tim Southee 2-85) by four wickets.

Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.

Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.

Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.

"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.

Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.

"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.

"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.

Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia. 

Jul 2: Cricket's biggest names, most of whom could hear only stories of Sir Everton Weekes' exploits from the bygone era, on Thursday remembered the "great" batsman and a "greater human being" in glowing tributes after he died aged 95.

Weekes, who formed the famous three 'Ws' of West Indies cricket alongside Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell as part of a formidable batting lineup for more than a decade, died on Wednesday.

His death left the cricket world in a state of mourning.

"As one of the remarkable 'Three Ws', along with Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell, who together struck 39 Test centuries, he played an important hand in a period that marked the rising dominance of West Indies cricket," the ICC said in its obit.

The 1925 Barbados-born Weekes made his Test debut against England in 1948.

"On behalf of CWI I want to publicly express our deepest sympathy to the family of this remarkable Iconic sportsman and gentleman, who passed away earlier today," Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt said in a release.

"I never had the opportunity to see Sir Everton bat, but I had the opportunity to get to know him a little in his later years. I learned about his incredible career by reading about him and looking at old videos when I could.

"His performance stats were excellent as he set tremendously high standards for his time."

In his career, Weekes played 48 Test matches and made 4,455 runs at an average of 58.61 per innings. That included a world-record five consecutive centuries in 1948 — scores of 141 against England in Jamaica, followed by knocks of 128, 194, 162 and 101 in India. In his next innings in Madras, he made 90 when he was controversially run out.

Skerritt added, "... Sir Everton was, therefore, a most amazing pioneer in West Indies cricket; a gentleman and quite simply a wonderful human being."

The modern-day cricketers also mourned his death and paid moving tributes.

Former India captain Anil Kumble tweeted, "Saddened to hear about the passing of WI legend Sir. Everton Weekes. Had met him during the ICC conference in Barbados. He remembered a conversation we had during his time as a match referee. Condolences to his family and friends."

Kumble's former India teammate VVS Laxman wrote, "Heard about the passing away of West Indies legend, Sir Everton Weekes. He was one of the greats of the game. My condolences to his family and loved ones."

Mike Atherton, the opener who led England in the 1990s, was also disappointed to know of the legend's passing away.

"Very sad to learn of the passing of Sir Everton Weekes. A humble man who wore his greatness lightly."

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop said, "I had the great privilege of spending time in the company of Sir Everton on several occasions over the past 2 decades. Never once did I leave his presence without feeling a sense (of) warmth, cheerfulness & having learnt something rich & endearing each time. A truly great human being. The Marylebone Cricket Club said in a statement: "Everyone at MCC and Lord's are saddened at the news of Sir Everton Weekes' passing,"

"He will forever be remembered as one of the West Indies' finest cricketers."

Former India player and current coach Ravi Shastri said, "Saddened by passing away of Sir Everton Weekes who was the last of the famous 'Three Ws'. A true humble great of the game. My thoughts and prayers are with Sir Weekes' family and fans in this hour of grief. RIP Sir Folded hands."

All three -- Walcott and Worrell, Weekes -- were born within a couple of miles of one another - within 18 months in Barbados between August 1924 and January 1926, and all made their Test debuts within three weeks in early 1948.

Worrell died in 1967 and Walcott in 2006.

Weekes' average of 58.61 runs places him along with George Headley in the top 10 Test averages of all time.

Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies few years ago, took to Twitter and wrote, "We lost a legend today. Sir Everton Weekes is part of @windiescricket great history and legacy. He also was a great human being. Condolences goes out to his family. May he Rest In Peace."