India vs New Zealand Head to Head Record in Test Cricket

The purest format of the game will gain prominence from June 18th, 2021, as the eagerly awaited final of the World Test Championship (WTC) will take place between India and New Zealand. And, these two sides will have two colossal batting behemoths leading them.

While India will be led by their batting talisman and skipper Virat Kohli, the Kiwis will be led by Kane Williamson. And, both these men will be looking to lead their respective sides to a win.

New Zealand boasts of a menacing bowling attack. The likes of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, and Neil Wagner are capable of slicing through any batting lineup. On the other hand, India too has pacemen who can send shivers down the spine of the opposition. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma form a potent three-pronged pace attack.

India vs New Zealand Head to Head Record

With Test match cricket about to once again hog the limelight as two heavyweight teams clash on England soil, let us take a look at the Head-to-Head record between India and New Zealand.

India has the upper hand in the rivalry between the two sides. In the 59 Test matches that have taken place between these two outfits, India has managed to keep the head to head table a bit high to win 21 of them. While the Black Caps have emerged triumphant on 12 occasions, there have also been 26 matches that have ended in a draw.

Also Read: WTC Final Squads, Schedule, Venue & All you need to know

Top Performers in India vs New Zealand Test matches

Rahul Dravid is the top run-scorer in Test matches played between India and New Zealand. The right-handed batting colossus has scored 1659 runs against New Zealand in 15 Test matches and has scored his runs at a stunning average of 63.80. Dravid has also scored 6 hundreds and 6 fifties as well against New Zealand.

For New Zealand, Brendon McCullum has been the most prolific performer with the willow. McCullum played 10 Test matches against India and amassed 1224 runs at an average of 68.00. He also scored 4 centuries and 2 half-centuries against India.

Among current players, Virat Kohli is the most successful Indian batsman. The current Indian skipper has scored 773 runs against the Kiwis and has scored his runs at an average of 51.53. Kohli has scored 3 centuries and 3 half-centuries against the Black Caps. For New Zealand, Ross Taylor has scored the most runs among active players. The veteran batsman has scored 812 runs against India at an average of 33.83.

With the ball in hand, Richard Hadlee is the most successful bowler for the Black Caps. The right-arm pacer scalped 65 wickets against India and picked his wickets at an average of 22.96. For the Indian side, it is Bishan Singh Bedi who is the highest wicket-taker. The crafty left-arm spinner picked up 57 wickets in the 12 Test matches he played against New Zealand at an average of 19.14.

Among current players, Tim Southee is the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand. Southee has scalped 39 wickets in the 8 Tests that he has played against India and has scalped them at an average of 24.46. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin is the highest wicket-taker among current players. Ashwin has picked up 48 wickets in Tests against the Black Caps and has picked them at an average of 16.97.

What happened when India and New Zealand met last time in Test cricket?

New Zealand hammered the Indian side when these two outfits met each other last time at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch last year. In fact, the Test match lasted for just 3 days. Batting first, India posted a total of 242 on the board, and New Zealand replied with a total of 235.

In the 2nd innings though, Trent Boult and Tim Southee unleashed havoc with the ball, as the Virat Kohli-led Indian side was bowled out for just 124. Such was the pathetic state of affairs for India, that the highest run-scorer in the 2nd innings for the visitors was Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 24.

New Zealand cantered past the target of 132 in the 2nd innings with 7 wickets to spare to comfortably win the Test match.