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Fifteen years of covering this sport, and I still tell younger reporters the same thing when they ask which rivalry actually rewards close attention: India versus New Zealand. Not the loudest fixture on the calendar, but consistently the one that decides World Cups. The India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Timeline runs all the way back to 1975, through Old Trafford, through Manchester’s rain in 2019, through Mumbai’s roar in 2023, and it keeps landing on the biggest stages cricket has to offer.
New Zealand won the first meeting. Glenn Turner, calm as ever, batted through a low-scoring chase at the 1975 World Cup and got the Black Caps home. Since then, the two sides have played each other more than 120 times, in bilateral series across both countries and in nearly every ICC tournament since the format existed. India hold the overall lead, but it’s never been the kind of lead that lets anyone relax.
Why does this rivalry matter? Because New Zealand has knocked India out of a World Cup semifinal, and India has returned the favor. Because both boards keep scheduling each other in tour windows that matter for World Cup preparation. And because the personal duels inside it, Kohli against Boult, Rohit against Southee, have produced some of the format’s best cricket.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Timeline (Year-wise)
1975–1989: The Early Years
The rivalry opened at the 1975 Prudential World Cup in Manchester. New Zealand chased down India’s target with four wickets in hand, and Glenn Turner’s unbeaten 114 became the first ODI century scored in this fixture. It was a modest start to what would become one of the format’s most durable contests.
Bilateral cricket followed slowly. India toured New Zealand in 1980-81 and lost both ODIs on offer, with Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath leading two separate defeats. New Zealand’s first full bilateral tour of India came in 1988, and India won that series, with Kris Srikkanth picking up two five-wicket hauls along the way, a record among Indian bowlers in this fixture that still stands.
1990–1999: Tendulkar’s Era Begins
Sachin Tendulkar debuted in 1989 and quickly became the batter this fixture would be built around for the next two decades. New Zealand’s Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming grew into their own during this decade, giving the rivalry a genuine top-order arms race.
Anil Kumble emerged as India’s most dangerous bowler against New Zealand in this window, eventually finishing with 39 wickets across his career in the fixture, still second only to Javagal Srinath.
2000–2009: Srinath, Bond, and a Golden Age of Fast Bowling
This decade belonged to the quicks. Javagal Srinath tormented New Zealand’s middle order across 30 ODIs, finishing with 51 wickets, still the highest tally by any bowler in this rivalry. On the other side, Shane Bond produced the single best bowling figures ever recorded between these two teams: 6 for 19, in 2005, a spell that remains untouched two decades later.
India toured New Zealand in 2008-09 and won the five-match series 3-1, a rare away triumph that Indian teams of that era struggled to replicate on New Zealand’s seaming pitches.
2010–2019: Kohli, Williamson, and the Manchester Heartbreak
Virat Kohli’s rise defined this decade of the rivalry. He scored freely against New Zealand’s attack, including a chase-defining 154 not out in Mohali in 2016, and by the end of the decade had built a batting average against them north of 55.
Then came July 9, 2019. India, chasing a place in the World Cup final, collapsed against Trent Boult and Matt Henry in a rain-interrupted semifinal at Old Trafford in Manchester. New Zealand won by 18 runs and went on to lose an even more dramatic final to England. For Indian fans, that semifinal still stings more than almost any other result in this fixture’s history.
2020–Present: India’s Redemption and a Balanced Modern Rivalry
India didn’t wait long to settle the score. At the 2023 World Cup in Mumbai, this same semifinal fixture played out in reverse. India posted 397 for 4, still the highest ODI total ever recorded in this rivalry, and bowled New Zealand out for 327, winning by 70 runs to book a place in the final.
The two teams also met twice during the 2025 Champions Trophy in the UAE: a group-stage win for India by 44 runs, then a tense final in Dubai where India chased down 280 with four wickets in hand to lift the trophy.
New Zealand answered in January 2026, touring India and winning a three-match bilateral ODI series 2-1, their first ODI series win on Indian soil in the format’s modern era. Daryl Mitchell was the standout, and Virat Kohli passed Sachin Tendulkar to become India’s all-time leading run-scorer against New Zealand in ODIs during that same series, even in a losing cause.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Head-to-Head Record
| Format | Matches | India Wins | New Zealand Wins | No Result | Tie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 123 | 63 | 52 | 7 | 1 |
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Series Results
| Year | Host Nation | Series Winner | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | India | India | Won 5-match series |
| 1994 | New Zealand | Drawn | 2-2 in 4 matches |
| 2003 | Multiple (World Cup) | India | Group win at World Cup |
| 2009 | New Zealand | India | Won 5-match series 3-1 |
| 2016 | India | India | Won 3-2, Amit Mishra took 15 wickets |
| 2019 | New Zealand | New Zealand | Won 4-1, then beat India in World Cup semifinal |
| 2020 | New Zealand | New Zealand | Won 3-0 |
| 2023 | India (World Cup) | India | Won semifinal by 70 runs |
| 2025 | UAE (Champions Trophy) | India | Won both meetings, including the final |
| 2026 | India | New Zealand | Won 3-match series 2-1 |
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Match Results
| Date | Venue | Winner | Margin | Player of the Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 1975 | Manchester | New Zealand | 4 wickets | Glenn Turner |
| Sep 11, 2009 | Colombo | India | 6 wickets | Ashish Nehra |
| Oct 20, 2016 | Visakhapatnam | India | 190 runs | Amit Mishra |
| Jul 9, 2019 | Manchester | New Zealand | 18 runs | Matt Henry |
| Jan 18, 2023 | Hyderabad | India | 12 runs | Shubman Gill |
| Nov 15, 2023 | Mumbai | India | 70 runs | Shreyas Iyer |
| Mar 2, 2025 | Dubai | India | 44 runs | Rohit Sharma |
| Mar 9, 2025 | Dubai | India | 4 wickets | Virat Kohli |
| Jan 11, 2026 | Vadodara | India | 4 wickets | – |
| Jan 18, 2026 | Indore | New Zealand | 41 runs | – |
This table highlights landmark and recent fixtures rather than all 123 meetings.
Read Also : India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team Timeline
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Statistics
Highest Team Total
India, 397 for 4, Mumbai, 2023 World Cup semifinal.
Lowest Team Total
New Zealand, 79 all out, Visakhapatnam, October 2016, bowled out in 23.1 overs by Amit Mishra’s 5 for 18.
Highest Successful Chase
India’s chase of 280 in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai stands among the fixture’s best, alongside a 286-chase in Mohali in 2016 built around Kohli’s 154 not out.
Lowest Successful Defended Score
New Zealand have defended totals under 160 against India on more than one occasion, most notably in Colombo in 2009, though full-scale low-score defenses remain rare in this fixture.
Largest Victory Margin
India by 70 runs in the 2023 World Cup semifinal is the largest margin in a genuine knockout context. Some aggregator sources list a larger 372-run margin from a 2001 bilateral fixture, though that scale of win hasn’t repeated since.
Closest ODI Matches
India’s 12-run win in Hyderabad in January 2023, built on Shubman Gill’s double century, ranks among the tightest finishes relative to the runs on the board.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Batting Records
Most Runs
| Player | Team | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Centuries | Fifties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 42 | 41 | 1750 | 186* | 46.05 | 8 | 5 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 31+ | 31+ | 1645+ | 154* | 58.75 | 9 | 9 |
| Ross Taylor | New Zealand | 35 | 34 | 1385 | 112* | 47.75 | 3 | 8 |
| Nathan Astle | New Zealand | 29 | 29 | 1207 | 120 | 43.10 | 5 | 5 |
| Virender Sehwag | India | 23 | 23 | 1157 | 130 | 52.59 | 6 | 3 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 29 | 28 | 1147 | 118 | 44.11 | 1 | 10 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | India | 40 | 31 | 1118 | 108* | 36.06 | 1 | 7 |
| Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | 40 | 38 | 1098 | 90 | 32.29 | 0 | 9 |
Kohli overtook Tendulkar’s aggregate during the January 2026 series in India, after scoring 240 runs across three matches, and now sits as this fixture’s all-time leading run-scorer.
Highest Individual Score
Shubman Gill, 208 off 149 balls, Hyderabad, January 18, 2023, the highest individual score by either side in this fixture.
Most Hundreds
Virender Sehwag leads Indian batters with six centuries against New Zealand; Ross Taylor’s three lead New Zealand’s tally among frequent contributors.
Most Fifties
Kane Williamson holds New Zealand’s record with 10 fifties in 29 innings. Virat Kohli leads India with nine, matched for 50-plus scores by Sachin Tendulkar’s combined tally of centuries and fifties.
Most Sixes
Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni share the top of India’s six-hitting charts against New Zealand, both benefiting from long careers and a habit of finishing games at the death.
Most Fours
Sachin Tendulkar’s 41-match sample gives him the highest four-count on either side, a product of both longevity and his trademark placement game.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Bowling Records
Most Wickets
| Player | Team | Matches | Wickets | Best Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javagal Srinath | India | 30 | 51 | 4/23 |
| Anil Kumble | India | 31 | 39 | 5/33 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 25 | 38 | 4/49 |
| Mohammed Shami | India | 14 | 37 | 7/57 |
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 36 | 27 | – |
| Zaheer Khan | India | 22 | 20+ | 4/42 |
Mohammed Shami’s strike rate is the sharpest of anyone on this list, 37 wickets from just 14 matches, and his 7 for 57 is the best individual figures by an Indian bowler in this fixture.
Best Bowling Figures
Shane Bond, 6 for 19, 2005, still the best figures recorded by either side against the other.
Most Five-Wicket Hauls
Kris Srikkanth holds the record among Indian bowlers with two, both against New Zealand in the late 1980s. Harbhajan Singh has three five-wicket hauls among Indian spinners across his career, though not all against New Zealand specifically.
Read Also : India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team T20I Timeline
Best Economy Rate
Among high-volume bowlers, Anil Kumble’s control across 31 matches gives him one of the tightest economy rates in this fixture, a big reason he stayed a fixture in India’s ODI attack against New Zealand for over a decade.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Partnership Records
- Highest Partnership: Built around Shubman Gill’s double hundred in Hyderabad, 2023, where his stand with Shreyas Iyer anchored India’s total.
- Highest Opening Stand: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan produced several century opening stands against New Zealand through the 2010s, forming one of India’s most reliable pairs against the Black Caps’ new-ball attack.
- Highest Partnership for a Wicket: New Zealand’s ninth-wicket record of 84, between Jimmy Neesham and Matt Henry, remains their best partnership against India below the top order.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI World Cup History
1975 World Cup: New Zealand won the first-ever meeting between the sides, four wickets to spare, at Old Trafford.
1987 World Cup: India won both group meetings on home soil, with Sunil Gavaskar’s century in one and tight bowling from Chetan Sharma and Maninder Singh in the other.
1999 World Cup: New Zealand posted 349 for 9 in Rajkot in a bilateral fixture around this period, still their highest score against India in this format.
2003 World Cup: India beat New Zealand in the group stage in South Africa, with Zaheer Khan among the wicket-takers, part of a run that carried India to the final.
2019 World Cup Semifinal: New Zealand’s defining win over India, 18 runs in a rain-affected chase at Old Trafford, ending India’s campaign and MS Dhoni’s international career in the same match.
2023 World Cup Semifinal: India’s revenge, 397 for 4 in Mumbai, a 70-run win that sent India into the final on home soil.
Memorable India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Matches
The first ODI. Manchester, 1975. Glenn Turner’s century set the template for a rivalry that would run for half a century.
The Visakhapatnam demolition. October 2016. New Zealand bowled out for 79, their lowest total in the fixture, as Amit Mishra ran through them with 5 for 18.
The Manchester heartbreak. July 2019. Rain, DLS calculations, and a New Zealand attack that never let India’s chase breathe. Still India’s most painful ODI loss to this opponent.
Gill’s double hundred. Hyderabad, January 2023. A 208 off 149 balls that turned a routine bilateral fixture into a piece of history.
The Mumbai redemption. November 2023. India’s 397 for 4 and a 70-run World Cup semifinal win that avenged 2019 in the most emphatic way possible.
Venue-wise India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Record
| Venue | Matches | India Wins | NZ Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland (Eden Park) | 8+ | Mixed | Mixed |
| Christchurch | 5+ | Mixed | Mixed |
| Hyderabad | 4+ | Majority India | Minority |
| Visakhapatnam | 3+ | Majority India | Minority |
| Mumbai | 4+ | Majority India | Minority |
This is directional rather than exhaustive, since venue-level breakdowns across 123 matches spanning multiple decades aren’t consistently published in one place.
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Captains Record
| Captain | Team | Record vs New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni | India | Most ODI wins as Indian captain against New Zealand |
| Sourav Ganguly | India | Strong early-2000s record, including 2003 World Cup |
| Virat Kohli | India | Winning record, capped by the 2023 World Cup semifinal |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | Led the 2019 World Cup semifinal win |
| Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | Long-serving captain across a competitive 2000s stretch |
Top Performers in India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI History
Best Indian Batter
Virat Kohli. Now the fixture’s all-time leading run-scorer, with an average above 55 and the temperament for both bilateral cricket and World Cup knockouts.
Best New Zealand Batter
Kane Williamson, for the sheer consistency: 10 fifties in 29 innings and a calm head in some of the biggest games this rivalry has produced.
Best Indian Bowler
Javagal Srinath. Fifty-one wickets against New Zealand remains the standard nobody else has approached.
Best New Zealand Bowler
Shane Bond, on pure impact, holder of the best bowling figures in the fixture’s history, even with a career shortened by injuries.
Most Player of the Match Awards
Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson both sit near the top of this list, a fair reflection of how often these two have decided matches between their teams.
Major Milestones in the India vs New Zealand ODI Rivalry
- First ODI: June 14, 1975, Manchester, New Zealand won by 4 wickets.
- First bilateral series win for New Zealand in India: January 2026, their first in the modern era.
- Highest team total: 397 for 4, Mumbai, 2023 World Cup semifinal.
- Biggest World Cup moment: the 2019 and 2023 semifinals, mirror images of each other three World Cups apart.
- Record partnership era: Kohli and Dhoni’s middle-order stands through the 2010s, which repeatedly rescued India from top-order collapses against New Zealand’s swing bowlers.
How the India vs New Zealand ODI Rivalry Has Evolved
New Zealand’s fast bowlers, Bond, then Boult and Southee together, controlled long stretches of this rivalry through the 2000s and 2010s. India’s response came through batting depth: Tendulkar, then Kohli, gave India a top order capable of chasing anything.
World Cups have carried the emotional weight of this fixture more than bilateral cricket ever could. Losing to New Zealand in a semifinal, as India did in 2019, cuts deeper than any bilateral series defeat. Winning one, as India did in 2023, means more than any trophy in between.
The balance has tightened again recently. New Zealand’s series win in India in January 2026 proved the Black Caps can still travel and win, even against a full-strength Indian side building toward its next World Cup cycle. Expect this rivalry to keep swinging that way for a while yet, tight series, the occasional blowout, and at least one more World Cup meeting that neither team will forget.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the first India vs New Zealand ODI played?
June 14, 1975, at Old Trafford in Manchester, during the inaugural Prudential World Cup. New Zealand won by four wickets.
Who has won more ODIs between India and New Zealand?
India lead 63-52 across 123 matches, with seven no-results and one tie, as of the January 2026 series.
Which team has the highest ODI score in this fixture?
India, with 397 for 4, scored during the 2023 World Cup semifinal in Mumbai.
Who has scored the most ODI runs in this rivalry?
Virat Kohli, having overtaken Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record during the January 2026 series.
Who has taken the most wickets?
Javagal Srinath, with 51 wickets from 30 matches, the highest tally by any bowler on either side.
Which was the biggest ODI victory in this rivalry?
India’s 70-run win in the 2023 World Cup semifinal stands as the most significant, given the stakes involved.
How many World Cup matches have India and New Zealand played?
The two sides have met nine times across ODI World Cups, including two semifinals, in 2019 and 2023.
Which venue has hosted the most ODIs between these two teams?
Auckland’s Eden Park and Christchurch’s grounds in New Zealand, along with Indian venues like Hyderabad and Mumbai, have hosted the bulk of this fixture’s matches.
What is the highest successful chase between India and New Zealand?
India’s chase of 280 in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai ranks among the best, alongside Kohli’s 154 not out chase in Mohali in 2016.
Who has won the most ODI series between the two sides?
India have won a clear majority of their bilateral series against New Zealand, though New Zealand’s away form in India improved sharply with their 2026 series win.
The India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand Cricket Team ODI Timeline has run for exactly 50 years now, from Glenn Turner’s century at Old Trafford to Kohli’s record-breaking runs in early 2026. It’s carried two of the most gut-wrenching World Cup semifinals either country has played, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Both boards keep scheduling this fixture into every major World Cup cycle, and both teams keep treating it like it matters more than a routine bilateral series. Given how the last decade has gone, that’s not going to change anytime soon.
