The India versus New Zealand competition has always been an entertaining part of the landscape of world cricket; matches have varied in length and tension, and played out in numerous unforgettable episodes. The India National Cricket team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team timeline has introduced decades of competitive cricket, stretching back to historic Test matches, then to flat-out One-day Internationals (ODIs), then to trailblazing T20 matches. The production of cricket by both teams has been iconic– by India’s reliance on batting, and New Zealand’s consistent bowling of pace and tactics. They have packaged thrilling end runs, surprising upsets, epic battles of fan-favorite players, and have produced a dramatic timeline of changing cricket excellence across formats.
Initial Encounters: 1950s to 1970s
- 1955-1956 India vs New Zealand: The first-ever encounter between India and New Zealand was a Test match played in Hyderabad. India won the five-match series 2-0. The hall of fame for their rivalry includes Polly Umrigar’s famous innings, in which he scored 223 runs in the first Test match, and Mulvantrai Mankad’s 223-run performance in the second Test match. With 230 runs for New Zealand in the third Test match, Bert Sutcliffe had his greatest innings ever.
- 1964-1965 India vs New Zealand: Almost a decade later, the Black Caps and the Men in Blue faced each other again in India for a Test series with four Test matches. The first three Test matches ended in a draw, with India winning the final Test by 7 wickets. Some key players for India included Vijay Manjrekar, Nawab of Pataudi Jr, Dilip Sardesai, Chandu Borde, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Ramakant Desai and Salim Durani. Key contributors for the Kiwis included Bert Sutcliffe, Bruce Taylor, Graham Dowling, Ross Morgan, and Richard Motz.
- 1967-1968 New Zealand vs India: New Zealand won Test 2, but India prevailed 3-1 in the four-match Test series. This victory was New Zealand’s first win against India after Graham Dowling’s 239 in the first innings – his career best performance. This series made India realize their true potential in the sport by defeating the Kiwis in their own land and recording their first win against New Zealand outside the home series.
- 1969-1970 India vs New Zealand: The Men in Blue and the Black Caps met once again in a 3-game Test series in India. India won the first Test by 60 runs, while New Zealand managed to defeat India in Test 2 by 167 runs. The third test was a draw.
- 1975 Prudential World Cup: Both teams met in their first One Day Internationals in the 10th match of the Prudential World Cup on 14th June 1975 in Manchester. The Men in Blue batted first and recorded 230 runs, while the Kiwis’ captain Glenn Turner led a successful run chase, making an unbeaten 114 from 108 balls as the Kiwis finished their innings with 233 runs in 58.5 overs, losing 6 wickets.
- 1975-1976 New Zealand vs India: This series showcased the excellent performances of the Kiwis as they whitewashed India in a 2 match series at home. In the 1st match, Indian batsmen were bundled out for 154 runs with only Gundappa Viswanath exceeding fifty runs. New Zealand successfully chased the target of 155 runs in just 30.3 overs, losing just one wicket, with the excellent support of Glenn Turner (63*). Glenn Turner (52) and Kenneth Wadsworth (46*) were key contributors to New Zealand’s 80-run victory in the second game.
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1980s to 1990s: India’s Dominance over the Black Caps
- 1980-1981 Benson & Hedges World Series Cup: India and New Zealand participated in the tri-nation series, along with host Australia. Both teams played several games against each other, with India winning 2 games and New Zealand winning 3 in the series. The 10th match in the series was important, as New Zealand won this match by 10 wickets, courtesy of a 113-run partnership between John Wright and Bruce Edgar.
- 1984-1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship: The championship’s first semi-final match took place in Sydney between India and New Zealand. India won this match by 7 wickets to proceed to the finals. New Zealand batted first and scored 206 in their first innings. India lost only three wickets during their 43.3 overs innings and completed the chase of 207 runs, with Dillip Vengsarkar scoring 63. India went on to defeat Pakistan in the final, becoming the new World Champions.
- 1987-1988 Reliance World Cup: Match number 24 (the Kiwis vs. the Men in Blue) was held in Nagpur, India. India scored 224 runs with one wicket down after New Zealand won the toss and batted first, earning 221 runs. Sunil Gavaskar scored a century and was abundantly supported by Kris Srikkanth (75) and Mohammad Azharuddin (41).
- 1987-1988 Sharjah Cup: India defeated New Zealand in the final of the 1987-1988 Sharjah Cup by 52 runs. India scored a total of 250 and restricted New Zealand to 198. Ravi Shastri won the man of the match award for his composed innings of 72 runs from 66 balls.
- 1989-1990 Rothmans Cup Triangular Series: The 4th match of the series was absolutely iconic as India protected itself from not losing by just 1 run. After winning the toss, the Indian cricket team chose to bat and amassed 221 runs in 48.2 overs, while the Black Caps (Kiwis) narrowly missed the mark by 1 run.
- 1995-1996 India vs New Zealand: The Test series was made up of 3 Tests played in India, where India won the first Test by 8 wickets. The other 2 Tests finished as draws. Mohammed Azharuddin was named the player of the match for his 87 runs, with Ajay Jadeja also contributing with 73 runs.
- 1996-1997 Pepsi Independence Cup: India hosted a quadrangular ODI cricket tournament in 1997. India played the 3rd Match of the Cup against New Zealand and won by 8 wickets. New Zealand batted first and scored 220 runs, while Men in Blue chased it down easily, with Sachin Tendulkar leading the charge with the bat (117 runs).
- 1998-1999 New Zealand vs India: New Zealand hosted a five-match ODI series between India and New Zealand. The series ended at 2 wins each. The 3rd ODI concluded in a no result, with New Zealand winning the 1st and 5th ODIs, while India won the 2nd and 4th ODIs. Game-changing batsmen for India included Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin. Game-changing players for New Zealand included Chris Cairns, Bryan Young and Matthew Horne.
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2000s to 2015: New Zealand Surged Back
- 2000-2001 ICC Knock-Out: The final of the ICC Knock-Out was played in Nairobi on 15 October 2000. India were invited to bat and scored 264 for 9, with Sourav Ganguly scoring 117. The Kiwis chased down the score successfully in 49.4 overs and with 6 wickets in hand. Chris Cairns was given Player of the Match due to outstanding batting (101 not out) in securing the win for his side by 4 wickets.
- 2002-2003 New Zealand vs India: New Zealand won all matches against India as they clean-swept them in the 2-match Test series in New Zealand, where the Kiwis comfortably won by 10 wickets in the first game and 4 wickets in the second game. Key players for New Zealand included Mark Richardson, Shane Bond, Daryl Tuffey, Jacob Oram, and captain Stephen Fleming.
- 2005-2006 Videocon Triangular Series: India lost the series final by 6 wickets with Men in Blue scoring 276 with a critical knock by Mohammad Kaif (93*) and Virender Sehwag (75), while New Zealand chased 278 relatively easily thanks to Nathan Astle (115*).
- 2007-2008 ICC World Twenty20: The inaugural T20I match occurred between India and New Zealand at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, which New Zealand won by 10 runs. Daniel Vettori was named player of the match for his performance of 4/20.
- 2008-2009 New Zealand vs India: In New Zealand, the two countries engaged in a three-match Test series. India won the series 1-0. The Men in Blue won by 10 wickets in the first game, with the other two games were drawn. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, V V S Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, and Zaheer Khan were the biggest contributors to the Indian Cricket team. Jesse Ryder, Daniel Vettori, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum, and Chris Martin were the key players for New Zealand.
- 2012-2013 India vs New Zealand: This match will be remembered by both teams because the Kiwis had a total runs count of 167, and restricted India from scoring a run total of 166, winning the game by just 1 run.
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2015 to Recent Encounters
- 2016-2017 India vs New Zealand: The two countries engaged in a 3-match Test series played in India. India dominated on its home ground, winning all three matches convincingly: won the first match by 197 runs, the second match by 178 runs, and the third match by 321 runs.
- 2017-2018 India vs New Zealand: India won the 3-match ODI series 2-1. The first ODI was won by New Zealand by 6 wickets, with Tom Latham making 103 not out. India fought back, winning the second ODI by 6 wickets before clinching the ODI series with a nail-biting 6-run win in the third ODI. India won the final ODI by 113 runs thanks to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s incredible 147.
- 2019 ICC World Cup: New Zealand beat India in the first semi-final by 18 runs. New Zealand made a total of 239 and posted that total because of Ross Taylor’s (74). India’s Ravindra Jadeja (77) and MS Dhoni (50) pushed the game, but India were bowled out for 221.
- 2021 ICC T20 World Cup: New Zealand played India in the 28th match in the tournament, which was played in Dubai, and won by 8 wickets, with 33 balls remaining. India had the first innings and got to a mediocre total of 110, as the Kiwis reached that target in 14.3 overs, losing 2 wickets.
- 2023 ICC World Cup: India go to the final of the World Cup, after defeating New Zealand in the semi-final by 70 runs. Virat Kohli posted 117, with Shreyas Iyer giving him strong support with 105. But the impact player that impressed many cricket fans with his amazing bowling was Mohammad Shami, with 7 wickets getting the top order batsmen out, and restricting the Black Caps to a total of 327 runs.
- 2024-2025 ICC Champions Trophy: The 2024–2025 Champions Trophy final saw India against New Zealand. The match was played in Dubai on 9th March, 2025. India won by 4 wickets with 6 balls to spare. Rohit Sharma scored 76, with Shreyas Iyer putting the final nail in the coffin with 48 runs, winning the game for India.
