Set a target of 261, the Indians were in a spot of bother at166 for five at one stage with three wickets falling in quick succession beforeKohli and skipper M S Dhoni steered the team home at the Chinnaswamy stadiumwith an entire day to spare.
Dhoni smashed a six off spinner Jeetan Patel to finish offthe match in style and in the process became the most successful captain bywinning 14 Test matches at home, eclipsing Mohammed Azharuddin's record of 13wins.
As the ball sailed over deep mid-wicket, scenes of wildcelebrations erupted at the stadium while the Indian players stood at thedressing room to applaud the heroics of Dhoni (48) and Kohli (51), who put onan unbeaten 96-run partnership to guide the team home.
New Zealand made an emphatic comeback in the final sessionpicking up wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara and Suresh Raina inquick succession, which jolted the Indian dressing room for a brief period.
Tendulkar lost his middle stump playing across the line onan uneven pitch and Pujara was snapped up by Daniel Flynn at forward short leg.
Raina, who had pulled out India from a hole in the firstinnings with his magnificent 55, threw his wicket with a reckless shot as hewas castled by Patel.
