Introduction: India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Stats

Cricket fans across the world regard the India vs New Zealand rivalry as one of the most competitive and closely fought contests in the modern game. Unlike the high-decibel India-Pakistan clashes or the historically loaded India-Australia battles, the India-New Zealand rivalry has built its reputation quietly — through tight finishes, tactical battles, and some of the most memorable knockout games in ICC tournament history. From Dravid-era Test tours to the 2019 World Cup heartbreak, the stunning 2024 whitewash, and India’s redemption in the 2026 T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad, this fixture has consistently delivered drama.

This article breaks down the complete India vs New Zealand head-to-head statistics across Test cricket, One Day Internationals, and T20 Internationals, along with individual player records, historic tournament meetings, and a timeline of the rivalry’s biggest moments — all current as of September 2026.

Overall Head-to-Head Record: India vs New Zealand

Across all three formats, India and New Zealand have squared off 219 times in international cricket. India holds the upper hand overall, though the gap narrows considerably depending on the format being examined.

Format	Matches Played	India Won	New Zealand Won	Draws / No Result / Tied
Test Matches	65	22	16	27
One Day Internationals (ODI)	123	63	52	8
T20 Internationals (T20I)	31	17	11	3
Total (All Formats)	219	102	79	38

India’s overall win percentage sits comfortably ahead of New Zealand’s across the aggregate numbers, but the story changes considerably when you isolate ICC knockout matches and World Cup meetings, where New Zealand has historically had the wood over India — at least until India’s statement win in the 2026 T20 World Cup final.

Test Cricket: India vs New Zealand

Test matches between the two sides date back over seven decades, and this format tells the most balanced story of the rivalry. Draws have been a huge factor historically, largely because New Zealand pitches and older-era pacing of Test cricket produced a lot of stalemates.

Test Match Summary Table

Stat	India	New Zealand
Total Matches Played	65	65
Matches Won	22	16
Matches Drawn	27	27
Win Percentage	33.8%	24.6%

Key Test Milestones

• Highest team total: New Zealand’s 680/8 declared at Wellington (2014) remains the highest individual innings total either side has posted in this fixture, eclipsing India’s 583/7 declared at Ahmedabad (1999).
• 2016-17 series: India completed a dominant 3-0 home sweep of New Zealand, one of the most one-sided Test series results in the rivalry’s history.
• 2021 home series: India beat New Zealand 1-0 in a two-Test series at home, with a comfortable innings-influenced win in the second Test after the first ended in a draw.
• 2024 New Zealand tour of India: This series stands out as a genuine shock in world cricket. New Zealand, under Tom Latham’s captaincy, completed a 3-0 whitewash of India on Indian soil — a result almost nobody predicted given India’s fortress-like home Test record over the previous decade. The series featured a stunning first innings collapse from India (bowled out for 46 in the first Test at Bengaluru) and continued to swing New Zealand’s way through Pune and Mumbai.

Recent Test Series Results

Series	Season	Venue	Result
New Zealand tour of India	1999-2000	India	India won 1-0
India tour of New Zealand	2002-03	New Zealand	New Zealand won 2-0
New Zealand tour of India	2016-17	India	India won 3-0
New Zealand tour of India	2021-22	India	India won 1-0
New Zealand tour of India	2024	India	New Zealand won 3-0

The 2024 result remains the most talked-about Test series in this rivalry in recent memory, largely because it broke India’s long unbeaten home Test streak and forced a broader conversation in Indian cricket about batting technique against high-quality seam and spin bowling on responsive home surfaces.

One Day International (ODI) Record: India vs New Zealand

The 50-over format has produced the largest sample size in this rivalry, with 123 completed and near-completed encounters. India holds a clear, though not overwhelming, advantage in this format.

ODI Match Summary Table

Stat	Numbers
Total Matches	123
India Wins	63
New Zealand Wins	52
No Result	7
Tied Matches	1

ODI Batting and Bowling Records

Parameter	India	New Zealand
Highest Team Total	397/4	349/9
Lowest Team Total	88	79
Most Runs (Player)	Sachin Tendulkar — 1,750	Ross Taylor — 1,385
Highest Individual Score	Shubman Gill — 208	Tom Latham — 145*
Most Wickets (Player)	Javagal Srinath — 51	Tim Southee — 38
Best Bowling Figures	Mohammed Shami — 7/57	Shane Bond — 6/19
Most Centuries	Virender Sehwag & Virat Kohli — 6 each	Nathan Astle — 5
Most Half-Centuries	Virat Kohli — 15	Kane Williamson — 12
Most Sixes	Rohit Sharma — 47	Chris Cairns — 25

ODI World Cup Meetings

Some of the most emotionally charged matches between these two teams have come in ODI World Cups, where the stakes are highest.

Tournament	Venue	Winner	Margin
1975 World Cup	Manchester	New Zealand	4 wickets
1999 World Cup	Taunton	New Zealand	5 wickets
2003 World Cup	Centurion	India	7 wickets
2019 World Cup Semi-Final	Manchester	New Zealand	18 runs
2023 World Cup Semi-Final	Mumbai	India	70 runs

The 2019 semi-final in Manchester is still remembered as one of India’s most painful World Cup exits — New Zealand defended 239/8 despite a spirited chase led by Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni, who nearly pulled off an improbable win before falling agonizingly short by 18 runs. India got their revenge four years later, dismantling New Zealand by 70 runs in the 2023 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai, powered by a dominant bowling display and a strong middle-order batting effort, en route to the final.

Most Recent ODI Series (January 2026)

New Zealand toured India for a three-match ODI series in January 2026, and it produced a rare result — New Zealand won the series 2-1 despite India’s overall dominance in bilateral ODI cricket at home.

Match	Venue and Date	Scores	Result
1st ODI	Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara — 11 Jan 2026	New Zealand 300/8; India 306/6	India won by 4 wickets
2nd ODI	Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot — 14 Jan 2026	India 284/7; New Zealand 286/3	New Zealand won by 7 wickets
3rd ODI	Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore — 18 Jan 2026	New Zealand 337/8; India 296	New Zealand won by 41 runs

New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell was named Player of the Series after a string of impactful innings, while Virat Kohli was India’s leading run-scorer in the series with 240 runs. Harshit Rana finished as India’s top wicket-taker with 6 dismissals across the three matches.

T20 International (T20I) Record: India vs New Zealand

The shortest format has been kind to India in bilateral cricket, but ICC tournament cricket in the T20 format told a very different story for a long time — until 2026.

T20I Match Summary Table

Stat	Numbers
Total Matches	31
India Wins	17
New Zealand Wins	11
No Result / Tied	3

T20I Batting and Bowling Records

Parameter	India	New Zealand
Highest Team Total	234/4 (Ahmedabad, 2023)	219/6 (Wellington, 2019)
Lowest Team Total	79	66
Most Runs (Player)	Rohit Sharma — 511	Colin Munro — 426
Highest Individual Score	Shubman Gill — 126*	—
Most Wickets (Player)	Arshdeep Singh — 17	Ish Sodhi — 30
Best Bowling Figures	Arshdeep Singh — 5/51	Mitchell Santner — 4/11

Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 126 off just 63 balls at Ahmedabad in 2023 remains one of the most destructive T20I innings by any Indian batter against New Zealand, and it also stands as India’s highest individual score against them in the format.

T20 World Cup Meetings: A Rivalry Within a Rivalry

For years, the T20 World Cup was New Zealand’s happy hunting ground against India, even though India dominated bilateral T20I cricket between the sides. That trend held for three consecutive tournaments before finally being broken in dramatic fashion in 2026.

Tournament / Year	Venue	Winner	Margin
2007 T20 World Cup (Super 8)	Johannesburg	New Zealand	10 runs
2016 T20 World Cup (Group Stage)	Nagpur	New Zealand	47 runs
2021 T20 World Cup (Super 12)	Dubai	New Zealand	8 wickets
2026 T20 World Cup (Final)	Ahmedabad	India	96 runs

In the very first T20 World Cup in 2007, Daniel Vettori’s spell of 4/20 helped New Zealand edge past India by 10 runs in a Super 8 clash in Johannesburg. Nine years later, in Nagpur in 2016, Mitchell Santner ripped through India’s batting with figures of 4/11 on a sharply turning surface, bowling India out for just 79 in defense of New Zealand’s modest 126. In 2021, in the UAE, India never recovered from a sluggish start and were restricted to 110/7, comfortably chased down by New Zealand.

That narrative was finally flipped on its head in the 2026 T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. New Zealand won the toss and chose to field first. India, batting first, posted 255/5. In reply, New Zealand’s chase never got going and they were bowled out for just 159, handing India a comprehensive 96-run win.

The victory meant India retained the title they had won at the previous edition and became the first team in T20 World Cup history to win three titles overall, as well as the first host nation to lift the trophy. New Zealand’s road to the final had itself been dramatic — Finn Allen smashed an unbeaten century off just 33 balls in the semi-final against South Africa, the fastest hundred in the tournament’s history, as New Zealand cruised into the final with a 9-wicket win.

Recent Bilateral T20I Series

Series / Year	Venue	Result
Jan-Feb 2026 (5 T20Is)	India	India won 4-1
2023-24 (3 T20Is)	India	India won 1-0 (2 No Result)
2022 (3 T20Is)	New Zealand	New Zealand won 1-0 (2 No Result)
2021 (3 T20Is)	India	India won 3-0
2019-20 (5 T20Is)	New Zealand	India won 5-0

India’s 5-0 whitewash of New Zealand on New Zealand soil in the 2019-20 series remains one of the most complete away performances by any team in bilateral T20I history, sweeping every game of a five-match series in unfamiliar conditions.

Player Stats: Bowlers Who Have Dominated the Rivalry

Bowling battles have often decided matches in this fixture, particularly on turning tracks in India and seam-friendly conditions in New Zealand.

Top Bowlers in ODIs (India vs New Zealand)

Player	Span	Matches	Wickets	Best Bowling	Economy	5-Wicket Hauls
Javagal Srinath (IND)	1992-2003	30	51	4/23	3.93	0
Anil Kumble (IND)	1994-2003	31	39	5/33	4.11	1
Mohammed Shami (IND)	2014-2025	16	38	7/57	6.13	2
Tim Southee (NZ)	2009-2023	25	38	4/49	6.33	0
Kapil Dev (IND)	1979-1994	29	33	3/26	3.44	0

Top Bowlers in T20Is (India vs New Zealand)

Player	Span	Matches	Wickets	Best Bowling	Economy
Ish Sodhi (NZ)	2016-2026	25	30	3/18	8.50
Mitchell Santner (NZ)	2016-2026	26	23	4/11	7.77
Tim Southee (NZ)	2009-2022	17	20	3/16	8.72
Arshdeep Singh (IND)	2022-2026	9	17	5/51	9.62
Jasprit Bumrah (IND)	2016-2026	14	16	3/12	7.05

New Zealand’s spin duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner have quietly built an extraordinary record against India in T20 cricket, with both bowlers troubling India’s top order on multiple occasions across a decade of contests.

A Brief Timeline of the Rivalry’s Biggest Moments

• February 1955: India and New Zealand play their first-ever Test match against each other, in Hyderabad, marking the start of a rivalry that would span more than seven decades.
• 1975 and 1999 World Cups: New Zealand get the better of India in both editions of the ODI World Cup where the two sides met.
• 2003 World Cup, Centurion: India beat New Zealand by 7 wickets in a group-stage clash during their run to the final.
• 2007 T20 World Cup, Johannesburg: New Zealand narrowly beat India by 10 runs in the very first T20 World Cup.
• 2016-17: India complete a 3-0 home Test whitewash of New Zealand.
• 2019 World Cup Semi-Final, Manchester: New Zealand edge past India by 18 runs in a rain-affected semi-final, ending India’s title hopes.
• 2021, Dubai: New Zealand beat India comfortably in the T20 World Cup Super 12 stage.
• 2023 World Cup Semi-Final, Mumbai: India avenge their 2019 loss with a dominant 70-run win over New Zealand, en route to the final.
• 2024: New Zealand complete a stunning 3-0 Test series whitewash of India on Indian soil.
• January 2026: New Zealand win a bilateral ODI series in India 2-1, despite India’s overall home dominance in the format.
• March 2026: India beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad, winning their third T20 World Cup title and becoming the first host nation to win the tournament.

Why This Rivalry Matters

What makes India vs New Zealand such a compelling fixture is the contrast in styles. India typically relies on aggressive batting depth, world-class spin options at home, and increasingly potent pace bowling resources. New Zealand, by contrast, has built a reputation for calm, methodical cricket — a team that rarely dominates headlines but consistently punches above its weight in ICC tournaments. New Zealand has reached the final or semi-final stage of ICC events against India with striking regularity, and for a long period, seemed to have India’s number specifically in high-pressure global tournament cricket, even while trailing in the bilateral head-to-head count.

The 2026 T20 World Cup final may prove to be a turning point in that particular narrative, given how emphatically India won and how it ended a three-tournament losing streak against New Zealand in T20 World Cup cricket specifically. Combined with India’s continued depth across formats, and New Zealand’s knack for producing match-winning individual performances at the right moments (Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen, Mitchell Santner, and Kane Williamson being recent examples), this rivalry looks set to remain one of the most closely watched in world cricket for years to come.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which team has a better overall head-to-head record, India or New Zealand? India leads the all-time head-to-head record across all formats combined, with 102 wins from 219 matches compared to New Zealand’s 79 wins.

Who has won more Test matches between India and New Zealand? India leads the Test head-to-head 22-16, though 27 of the 65 Tests played between the sides have ended in draws.

What was the result of the 2026 T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand? India won the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad by 96 runs, posting 255/5 before bowling New Zealand out for 159, and claimed their third T20 World Cup title.

Who is the leading run-scorer in ODIs between India and New Zealand? Sachin Tendulkar leads all batters with 1,750 runs against New Zealand in ODIs, ahead of New Zealand’s Ross Taylor on 1,385.

Who is the leading wicket-taker in this fixture across formats? Javagal Srinath’s 51 wickets in ODIs is the highest tally by any bowler from either side in the format; in T20Is, New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi leads with 30 wickets.

Statistics compiled from multiple cricket records databases and are current as of September 2026. Match numbers can vary slightly by source depending on whether abandoned or no-result matches are included in certain counts.