Auckland: The Indian cricket team had a memorable cross-sport interaction with New Zealand rugby legend Keven Mealamu on Wednesday, on the day of the first ODI against the Blackcaps in Auckland. 

India captain Shubman Gill, along with senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, were among the players who received personalised rugby jerseys from Mealamu during the special meeting.

“A special moment before the start of play Captain @ShubmanGill, @imVkohli and @ImRo45 meet with the legendary Keven Mealamu, a titan of New Zealand rugby and are presented with personalised rugby jerseys,” BCCI wrote in an X post. 

Born on March 20, 1979, Mealamu was widely regarded as one of the finest hookers to have represented the All Blacks and remained a celebrated figure in New Zealand sport. His warm interaction with the Indian cricket team highlighted the spirit of camaraderie and the strong bond shared between different sporting communities in the country.

Indian skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to chase against New Zealand in the first of the five ODIs in Auckland on Wednesday.

With the spotlight firmly on the road to the 2027 ODI World Cup, India begin their five-match series against New Zealand at Eden Park on Wednesday, with the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the 50-over format.

India will also be looking to turn around their modest ODI record in New Zealand, where their last victory came in February 2019. Since then, they have featured in two ODI series in the country, suffering 3-0 and 1-0 defeats, with two matches washed out during the latter tour.

India have struggled for consistency in the 50-over format since winning the Champions Trophy in early 2025. In the six ODI series they have played since, the Men in Blue have won three and lost three, with defeats against Australia, New Zealand and England. The last time these two sides met in an ODI series, New Zealand came out on top 2-1.

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner.

India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill(c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh.