"He hits those for six now" - New Zealand captain opens up on tactics against Rohit Sharma ahead of NZ vs IND 2026 ODIs

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner believes dismissing the legendary duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early is the only way to stop them ahead of the five-match ODI series against India. Santner revealed that the short ball was a ploy earlier employed against Rohit, but believes that the right-hander's proficiency against that delivery in recent years has made it a no-go.

Speaking to reporters in Auckland on the eve of the series opener, the New Zealand captain said his side would target India’s senior pair at the top of the order rather than wait for the middle overs.

"I guess we’ll try to stop them pretty early in every game, ideally. Their role is to go pretty hard at the top, then set up a good score in the middle and then let their power kind of come in at the end. Teams have tried to go short at Rohit before, but he hits those for six now. Kohli’s obviously an anchor for them. We know how good they are and, you know. I guess they’re getting on, but they’re still playing very well… I’ve seen it for a long time," said Santner (via RevSportz).

The ODI series opens at Eden Park on Wednesday (November 4), with India coming off a 3-2 win in the preceding T20I series.

Rohit Sharma’s ODI record against New Zealand and in New Zealand

In 14 ODIs on New Zealand soil, Rohit has 437 runs at 36.41 and a strike rate of 72.95, with four fifties and no century. His best here is 87, made at Mount Maunganui in January 2019, and New Zealand is the only SENA country where he has not scored an ODI hundred.

His overall record against New Zealand is stronger because it includes the two innings behind his hundreds: 147 at Kanpur in 2017 and 101 at Indore in 2023. Across 34 ODIs, he has 1,134 runs at 36.58 and a strike rate of 85.26, with two centuries and six fifties.

Rohit's overall ODI record is imposing: 12,120 runs in 291 matches at 49.26, with 35 centuries, 63 fifties and a best of 264, and his 381 sixes are the most by anyone in the format. This year he has 604 runs in 12 innings at 50.33 and a strike rate of 104.67, and one century in this series would make him the fourth Indian with ODI hundreds in all four SENA countries.

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