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Seven decades. Three formats. One of the most underrated contests in world cricket.
The India national cricket team vs New Zealand national cricket team timeline stretches back to 1955, and it’s produced some of the sport’s sharpest turns: a shock Test series loss on Indian soil in 1968, a World Cup semi-final that broke a billion hearts in 2019, and a T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad that flipped the script the other way in March 2026. This isn’t cricket’s loudest rivalry. It’s one of its most consistent.
Below is the full record: every era, every format, every number that matters.
Overview of the India vs New Zealand cricket rivalry
India and New Zealand don’t share a border, a colonial history, or a fanbase rivalry like India vs Pakistan does. What they share is timing. These two teams keep meeting at the exact moment a tournament is decided.
New Zealand won the very first global 50-over trophy meeting against India back in 1975. They knocked India out of the 2019 World Cup at Old Trafford. They beat India in the first-ever World Test Championship final in 2021. And when India finally got its revenge in the 2023 World Cup semi-final at Mumbai, it felt less like an upset and more like a rivalry evening itself out.
India holds the bigger head-to-head number across formats. New Zealand holds more nerve in ICC knockouts. Both things are true at once.
Why the India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Timeline matters
Cricket fans searching for this timeline usually want one of three things: the full head-to-head record, a breakdown of who’s dominated which format, or a recap of the biggest ICC clashes. This guide covers all three, updated through July 2026, with every table sourced and cross-checked against match records.
If you’re here for a quick answer: India leads across Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. New Zealand leads in ICC finals against India specifically. Keep reading for the full breakdown.
First-ever match between India and New Zealand
India and New Zealand played their first Test at Hyderabad in November 1955. It ended in a draw, as did four of the five matches in that series. Neither side had much experience against the other’s conditions, and both teams played cautiously. It set a strange pattern early: for the next 13 years, results between these two sides were rare. Draws were the default outcome.
India vs New Zealand timeline: key milestones (1955–present)
1955–56: first Test series between India and New Zealand
India’s tour of New Zealand in 1955-56 was the sides’ second meeting and New Zealand’s first home series against India. Four of five Tests were drawn. It wasn’t box office cricket, but it laid the groundwork for a rivalry that would eventually deliver plenty of drama.
1967–68: New Zealand’s historic Test series win in India
New Zealand’s first real statement came on Indian soil. Bevan Congdon’s side won the 1969 tour 1-0, and this remained one of the rare visiting-team victories in India for decades. It showed New Zealand could compete away from home, something that took years to fully register with Indian cricket followers.
1975: India vs New Zealand in the first Cricket World Cup
The 1975 World Cup group match at Old Trafford gave the world its first ODI meeting between the two sides. New Zealand won comfortably. It was a small result in a tournament India didn’t progress far in, but it opened a rivalry that would eventually produce two more World Cup classics decades later.
1988–89: India’s successful tour of New Zealand
India’s 1989 tour under Dilip Vengsarkar’s captaincy is remembered for tight, low-scoring cricket on seaming New Zealand pitches. Kapil Dev’s bowling and a young Indian side built confidence away from home. New Zealand wouldn’t win another Test on Indian soil for 36 years after this period, until the shock of 2024.
2000: ICC KnockOut Trophy final, New Zealand’s first ICC title
New Zealand beat India by 4 wickets in Nairobi to win the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy (the tournament that later became the Champions Trophy). Chris Cairns played the defining innings. It remains New Zealand’s first ICC 50-over title and the first big ICC final between these two teams.
2003 Cricket World Cup: memorable India vs New Zealand match
India beat New Zealand at Centurion during the 2003 World Cup group stage, part of a run that carried Sourav Ganguly’s team all the way to the final. Sehwag’s aggressive top-order batting set the tone in a match that helped establish India as genuine contenders that year.
2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final: New Zealand shock India
Manchester, July 10, 2019. Rain split the match across two days. New Zealand posted 239/8, built on a Ross Taylor fifty and a lower-order push from Grandhomme and Latham. India collapsed early, chasing, losing Rohit Sharma, Kohli, and Dhawan cheaply. A late fightback from Dhoni and Jadeja fell 18 runs short. It’s still considered one of the great World Cup semi-finals, and one of the most painful losses in Indian cricket’s white-ball history.
2021 ICC World Test Championship final: New Zealand triumphs
Southampton, June 2021. The inaugural WTC final went to a reserve day after rain wiped out play. New Zealand’s seam attack, led by Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, dismantled India twice. Kane Williamson’s unbeaten fifty sealed an 8-wicket win. New Zealand became Test cricket’s first official world champion, and it remains their proudest scalp against India.
2023 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final: India takes revenge
Mumbai, November 15, 2023. Four years after Manchester, India got its answer. Virat Kohli’s 117 anchored a total of 397/4, the highest score by any team in a men’s World Cup knockout at the time. Mohammed Shami tore through New Zealand’s chase with 7 wickets, and India won by 70 runs in front of a full Wankhede crowd. It was the loudest India vs New Zealand result of the last decade.
Latest India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team matches
The most recent chapters of this rivalry have swung hard in both directions. In late 2024, New Zealand toured India for a three-Test series and won all three matches, becoming the first touring side to whitewash India at home in a series of three or more Tests. Ajaz Patel took 11 wickets in the Mumbai Test. Mitchell Santner claimed 13 in Pune. Will Young was named Player of the Series after scoring 244 runs across the tour.
India answered in March 2025, beating New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai to lift the title. Then New Zealand hit back again, winning a three-match ODI series in India 2-1 in January 2026, its first-ever bilateral ODI series win on Indian soil.
The biggest recent result came on March 8, 2026. India beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, becoming the first team to defend a T20 World Cup title and win it on home soil. Jasprit Bumrah’s new-ball spell was the difference. Before that final, New Zealand had actually beaten India in all three of their previous T20 World Cup meetings, in 2007, 2016, and 2019.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Timeline head-to-head record
Overall India vs New Zealand head-to-head record
| Format | Matches played | India wins | New Zealand wins | Ties | No result / draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 65 | 22 | 16 | — | 27 draws |
| ODIs | 123 | 63 | 52 | 1 | 7 |
| T20Is | 31 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 219 | 102 | 79 | 1 | 37 |
India leads the overall picture comfortably. But strip out bilateral cricket and look only at ICC events, and the story flips. New Zealand has been the better team when it actually matters most.
India vs New Zealand Test head-to-head record
India and New Zealand have played 65 Tests since 1955. India has won 22, New Zealand 16, and 27 have ended in draws, a draw rate of over 40%, one of the highest for any regular Test rivalry. Home advantage explains most of it. India lost only two home Test matches to New Zealand between 1988 and 2024. Then New Zealand won three in a row in a single tour.
India vs New Zealand ODI head-to-head record
New Zealand and India have met 123 times in ODIs, the most of any format between them. India leads 63-52, with 1 tie and 7 no-results. India’s highest team total against New Zealand is 392/4, set in Christchurch. New Zealand’s highest total against India stands at 349/9. Chasing has generally favored whichever side plays at home, a pattern that held up again in the January 2026 series.
India vs New Zealand T20I head-to-head record
India dominates the shortest format on paper, leading 17-11 from 31 matches, with three games producing no result. But that number hides an uncomfortable truth for India: in ICC T20 World Cups specifically, New Zealand won three straight meetings before India finally broke through in the 2026 final. Bilateral T20I cricket and World Cup T20I cricket have told almost opposite stories for most of this rivalry’s history.
Read More : New Zealand National Cricket Team Vs India National Cricket Team Scorecard
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team timeline in ICC tournaments
| Tournament | Year | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prudential World Cup | 1975 | New Zealand won | Manchester |
| ICC KnockOut Trophy final | 2000 | New Zealand won by 4 wickets | Nairobi |
| ICC Cricket World Cup | 2003 | India won | Centurion |
| ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final | 2019 | New Zealand won by 18 runs | Manchester |
| ICC World Test Championship final | 2021 | New Zealand won by 8 wickets | Southampton |
| ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final | 2023 | India won by 70 runs | Mumbai |
| ICC Champions Trophy final | 2025 | India won | Dubai |
| ICC T20 World Cup final | 2026 | India won by 96 runs | Ahmedabad |
Four ICC finals between these two sides. India and New Zealand have split them 2-2, at Nairobi in 2000, Southampton in 2021, Dubai in 2025, and Ahmedabad in 2026. Add the two World Cup semi-finals and India edges the knockout count overall, but only barely, and only after 2023.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team timeline in bilateral series
India’s tours of New Zealand have historically been tough assignments. Seam-friendly pitches, overcast conditions, and a New Zealand side that punches above its ranking at home have made away series hard work for Indian batting line-ups built for spin. India’s best recent away results came in 2009, when the ODI side won 3-1, and in the mixed-format tour of 2020, which New Zealand actually swept 3-0 in ODIs.
New Zealand’s tours of India tell the opposite story for most of history. India dominated at home for close to four decades, losing barely any Test or bilateral series on its own turf. That changed abruptly in 2024, when New Zealand arrived and won every single Test of a three-match series, the first time any touring side had done that to India at home in the modern era. The 2-1 ODI series win in January 2026 extended New Zealand’s newfound comfort on Indian pitches even further.
Memorable India vs New Zealand matches in cricket history
2019 World Cup semi-final at Manchester. A rain-affected classic that swung on a handful of overs. New Zealand’s 239 looked gettable. It wasn’t.
2021 World Test Championship final at Southampton. Cricket’s first official world Test title, decided on a reserve day, won by New Zealand’s seam attack.
2023 World Cup semi-final at Mumbai. Kohli’s 117, Shami’s 7-wicket spell, and 397 runs on the board. India’s biggest statement of the tournament.
2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy final at Nairobi. New Zealand’s breakthrough ICC title, and the first real marker that this fixture could decide major trophies.
2026 T20 World Cup final at Ahmedabad. New Zealand had owned India in T20 World Cups for nearly two decades. India ended that run on home soil, in the biggest possible match.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team records and statistics
Highest and lowest team totals
| Category | Score | Team | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest Test total | 583/7 dec | India | Ahmedabad, 1999 |
| Highest ODI total | 392/4 | India | Christchurch |
| Highest T20I total | 271/5 | India | Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 2026 |
| Lowest Test total | 62 | New Zealand | Mumbai, 2001 |
| Lowest ODI total | 108 | New Zealand | — |
| Lowest T20I total | 66 | New Zealand | Ahmedabad, Feb 2023 |
India’s 583/7 in Ahmedabad in 1999 came off twin double-centuries from Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. New Zealand’s 62 all out in Mumbai in 2001 remains their lowest Test total against any opponent in the 21st century.
Largest victories
India’s biggest win by runs against New Zealand is 372, at Mumbai in 2001. Their biggest win by an innings came at Nagpur in 2010, by an innings and 198 runs. New Zealand’s biggest win by runs against India was their 96-run margin flipped the other way in the 2026 T20 World Cup final. That match now also holds the record for New Zealand’s heaviest T20I defeat to any team in a World Cup final.
Top performers in India vs New Zealand cricket history
Most runs in India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team matches
| Player | Format | Matches | Runs | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahul Dravid (IND) | Test | 15 | 1,659 | 63.80 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | Test | 24 | 1,595 | — |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | ODI | 42 | 1,750 | — |
| Ross Taylor (NZ) | ODI | — | 1,385 | — |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | ODI | — | 1,897 | 57.48 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | T20I | 17 | 511 | 34.06 |
| Colin Munro (NZ) | T20I | 12 | 426 | 38.72 |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | T20I | 13 | 419 | 34.91 |
Virat Kohli passed Tendulkar’s long-standing ODI mark against New Zealand during the January 2026 series to become India’s all-time leading run-scorer against the Black Caps in the format. Dravid’s 1,659 Test runs still stand as the outright highest tally by anyone, from either side, in this fixture.
Most wickets in India vs New Zealand matches
| Player | Format | Matches | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R Ashwin (IND) | Test | 9 | 66 | 15.43 |
| Javagal Srinath (IND) | ODI | 30 | 51 | — |
| Ishant Sharma (IND) | Test | 7 | 35 | — |
| Ajaz Patel (NZ) | Test | — | 11* | — |
*Ajaz Patel’s 11 wickets came in a single Test at Mumbai during the 2024 series, one of the great individual bowling efforts of that whitewash.
Ashwin’s Test numbers against New Zealand are startling next to anyone else’s: 66 wickets from just 9 matches, at an average under 16. Srinath remains the benchmark in ODIs, built across three decades of Indian pace bowling against New Zealand’s top orders.
Captains in the India vs New Zealand timeline
Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli each led India to multiple bilateral series wins over New Zealand, with Dhoni holding the record for most ODI wins as India’s captain in this fixture. On New Zealand’s side, Kane Williamson has captained more matches against India than anyone else in Black Caps history, and led the side to its two biggest results against India: the 2021 WTC final and the shock 2024 Test whitewash.
India vs New Zealand timeline: recent series results (2020–2026)
- 2020: New Zealand won the ODI series in New Zealand 3-0.
- 2021: New Zealand won the inaugural WTC final at Southampton.
- 2023: India beat New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final at Mumbai.
- 2024: New Zealand won all three Tests in India, a historic 3-0 whitewash.
- 2025: India beat New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai.
- 2026 (January): New Zealand won the ODI series in India 2-1, their first bilateral ODI series win on Indian soil.
- 2026 (March): India beat New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
Frequently asked questions
When did the India national cricket team first play against the New Zealand national cricket team?
In November 1955, a Test match at Hyderabad that ended in a draw.
Which team has won more matches in the India vs New Zealand rivalry?
India leads overall with 102 wins from 219 matches across all formats, against New Zealand’s 79.
What happened in the 2019 World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand?
New Zealand won by 18 runs at Manchester in a rain-affected match, ending India’s tournament and reaching the final.
Who won the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final?
New Zealand beat India by 8 wickets at Southampton to become Test cricket’s first official world champion.
Which player has scored the most runs in India vs New Zealand matches?
Rahul Dravid, with 1,659 Test runs, holds the highest tally in any single format between the two sides.
Which bowler has taken the most wickets in India vs New Zealand cricket history?
R Ashwin leads in Tests with 66 wickets from just 9 matches. Javagal Srinath leads in ODIs with 51.
Conclusion
Go back through the India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team timeline and one thing stands out: this rivalry keeps finding the biggest stage available. A World Cup semi-final in 2019. A Test championship decider in 2021. Another semi-final in 2023. A T20 World Cup final in 2026. Bilateral cricket has usually belonged to India. Global finals have belonged to whoever showed up sharper on the day, and that’s split almost evenly.
New Zealand’s away form in India used to be a footnote. After 2024 and January 2026, it isn’t anymore. Whatever comes next in this fixture, expect it to matter more than the schedule suggests.
