<p>Talented Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India dished out a clinical batting effort to post 347 for four against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton.</p>.<p>Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.</p>.<p>Iyer's knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 runs in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.</p>.<p>This was after Tom Blundell featured his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.</p>.<p>It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe.</p>.<p>Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls for the opening stand.</p>.<p>But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India were reduced to 54 for 2.</p>.<p>Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).</p>.<p>It brought Kohli and Iyer together, and they dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.</p>.<p>Kohli fell against the run of play as a wrong one from Ish Sodhi (1/27) got through his defence to clip the leg stump.</p>.<p>Rahul though didn't let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours.</p>.<p>But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.</p>.<p>The centurion fell shortly afterwards, caught off Southee even as Rahul took control.</p>.<p>He reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.</p>.<p>Rahul's carnage meant that New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs.</p>.<p>Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul</p>
<p>Talented Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India dished out a clinical batting effort to post 347 for four against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday.</p>.<p>Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton.</p>.<p>Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.</p>.<p>Iyer's knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 runs in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.</p>.<p>This was after Tom Blundell featured his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.</p>.<p>It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe.</p>.<p>Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls for the opening stand.</p>.<p>But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India were reduced to 54 for 2.</p>.<p>Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).</p>.<p>It brought Kohli and Iyer together, and they dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.</p>.<p>Kohli fell against the run of play as a wrong one from Ish Sodhi (1/27) got through his defence to clip the leg stump.</p>.<p>Rahul though didn't let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours.</p>.<p>But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.</p>.<p>The centurion fell shortly afterwards, caught off Southee even as Rahul took control.</p>.<p>He reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.</p>.<p>Rahul's carnage meant that New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs.</p>.<p>Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul</p>