Virat Kohli gifts Daryl Mitchell special jersey after Kiwi star wrecks India, claims World No.1 spot

Daryl Mitchell, who won the player of the match award for his match winning century in the third ODI, along with player of the match for scoring over 300 runs, has been the talk of the town for his magnificent ODI record against India.

Mitchell received praise for his performance in the series decider, which took him to the number one spot in the ICC ODI ranking, replacing Virat Kohli, who gifted him a special jersey after the match.

Virat Kohli gifts Daryl Mitchell a special jersey

The Performance

Daryl Mitchell was the pick of the batters in the recently concluded ODI series against India across both teams as he hammered more than 300 runs and helped his team register their first-ever ODI series win in India.

Mitchell scored a match-winning century in the game played at Holar Cricket Stadium in Indore, which was his second consecutive century in the series, having played a similar innings in Rajkot during the second game.

Daryl Mitchell has now scored four centuries in the last five ODI matches that he has played against India couple of which came in the 2023 ODI World Cup, including one in semi final in Mumbai.

Intrestingly Mitchell hasn’t been picked in the upcoming edition of the IPL despite his ability to play both fast and spin bowling with easy along with going through gears in different phases of the game.

The Responsibility

Along with scoring a century in the third ODI against India, Mitchell also chipped in with a few overs in the absence of Michael Bracewell, who picked up an injury in this particular game, and also led the side.

The fast bowling all-rounder made up for the lack of a fifth bowling option by bowling a few overs in the middle phase of India’s batting innings and kept things tight from his end at least, which created pressure on the Indian batters.

It was in all senses a complete game for Mitchell as he took a catch which was of utmost importance, i.e., of Virat Kohli, who was threatening to take the game away from New Zealand at the backend of the chase.

Mitchell has replaced Virat Kohli as the number one batter in the latest ICC ODI rankings following his performance in the third ODI against the Men in Blue.

The Gesture

Mitchell’s series-winning performance as acknowleged by Virat Kohli, who himself scored a century by gifting him a special jersey as the all-rounder became the number one ODI batter in the world.

Virat Kohli gifted his jersey to Daryl Mitchell ♥️

– A beautiful gesture by King. pic.twitter.com/jcteD16Ibh

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 19, 2026

The event took place after the match ended and the players were getting ready for the post-match presentation.

It was during this time that Virat Kohli stepped on the field to gift Daryl Mitchell a special jersey.

The two teams will now be involved in a five-match T20I series, with Suryakumar Yadav leading India and Mitchell Santner returning to lead New Zealand with the aim of winning and gaining momentum for the upcoming T20 World Cup.