India's tour of New Zealand kicked off with the first ODI on February 5, 2020, at Hamilton's Seddon Park. New Zealand won the toss and chose to field, forcing openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal to take the first guard.
The Indian opening stand was short-lived; Prithvi Shaw, making his ODI debut, was caught out for 20 (21), and Mayank Agarwal soon followed, contributing 32 (31). Their departures brought Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer into the middle to steer the innings.
Starting their partnership at 52-2 in the 9th over, Iyer wasted no time in finding the boundary. Despite the efforts of New Zealand's bowling attack—including de Grandhomme, Bennett, Santner, and Sodhi—Iyer continued to pile on the runs. When Kohli departed with 51 runs from 63 balls, KL Rahul stepped in to support Iyer.
Iyer remained aggressive, notably taking 8 runs off just 4 balls in an over bowled by Bennett. By the 39.1 over, he and Rahul had put on a substantial 117-run stand from 121 balls. Shortly after, facing Santner and Neesham, Iyer completed his first ODI century in just 107 balls.
While Kohli and the team cheered Iyer's landmark achievement, the batsman eventually departed in the 45.2 over, walking off with a proud performance. KL Rahul also played a vital role, utilizing his experience to score a brisk 88 off 64 balls. Together, they propelled India to a formidable total of 347-4 by the end of their 50 overs.