NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli's 105 and Yuvraj Singh's (42, 3/43) all-round performance propelled India to an emphatic 40-run victory over New Zealand in the first ODI at Guwahati on Sunday.
India now lead the five match ODI series 1-0.
After being dropped from the Test series, Yuvraj Singh put on a crucial 88-run partnership with centurion Virat Kohli to set the formidable 277-run target for Kiwis.
The dashing southpaw Yuvraj also shone with the ball as he scalped three vital wickets in his 10-over spell to put the visiting team in doldrums.
Earlier, flashy Virat Kohli stood up to his reputation and scored 105 to carry India to a challenging total of 276 all-out in the first innings after New Zealand put India into bat.
The right-handed number-three scored 100 off 100 balls before falling to Andy McKay, New Zealand's most effective bowler, when caught by Jamie How in the 43rd over.
Kohli's firepower looked set to take India to a formidable score but McKay pinned them back with four wickets for 62 runs.
Gambhir chipped in 38 as he took up the role of Indian captain, with MS Dhoni rested along with other top stars such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh for the start of the five-match series.
New Zealand's regular captain Daniel Vettori was also missing due to back stiffness following the three-game Test series between the teams, which India won 1-0 with a victory in Nagpur.
Ross Taylor took over Vettori's post.
With the game starting at 8:00 am local time, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl as they took into account the Guwahati ground's reputation as a tricky track to bat on early in the day.
