India start the first Test in Wellington on 19 November with a record in New Zealand that does not read well. Across 26 Tests in the country since 1968 (one of them abandoned without a ball bowled), India have won five and lost ten, with ten draws. Only two of those visits ended in a series win. Here are the numbers that tell the story.
India’s Test record in New Zealand at a glance
- Tests played: 26 (including one abandoned, at Dunedin in 1998)
- Won: 5
- Lost: 10
- Drawn: 10
- Series won: 2 (1967-68 and 2008-09)
- Last Test win in New Zealand: Hamilton, March 2009
The two series wins
1967-68 (won 3-1): India’s first tour of New Zealand is still their best. Under the Nawab of Pataudi, India won three of the four Tests, including the only Indian win so far at the Basin Reserve, by eight wickets in 1968. Ajit Wadekar scored 143 in that match.
2008-09 (won 1-0): MS Dhoni’s side won by 10 wickets in Hamilton, where Sachin Tendulkar made 160. They then held on for draws in Napier and Wellington. In Napier, Gautam Gambhir batted for well over ten hours to make 137 and save the match after India followed on.
Every series since
- 1975-76: drawn 1-1
- 1980-81: New Zealand won 1-0
- 1989-90: New Zealand won 1-0
- 1993-94: drawn 0-0 (one Test)
- 1998-99: New Zealand won 1-0
- 2002-03: New Zealand won 2-0
- 2013-14: New Zealand won 1-0
- 2019-20: New Zealand won 2-0
Most runs for India in Tests in New Zealand
- Sachin Tendulkar: 842 runs in 11 Tests, two hundreds, best 160
- Rahul Dravid: 766 runs in 7 Tests, average 63.83, best 190
- Mohammad Azharuddin: 521 runs in 6 Tests, average 74.42, best 192
- Gautam Gambhir: 445 runs in 3 Tests, average 89.00, two hundreds
Gambhir’s 2009 tour stands out. He made two hundreds in three Tests, and his average there is the best of any Indian with real volume in New Zealand.
Highest individual scores for India in New Zealand
- 192: Mohammad Azharuddin, Auckland, 1990
- 190: Rahul Dravid, Hamilton, 1999
- 167: Gautam Gambhir, Wellington, 2009
- 160: Sachin Tendulkar, Hamilton, 2009
- 143: Ajit Wadekar, Wellington, 1968
Best Indian bowlers in New Zealand
Off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna is still India’s leading wicket-taker in New Zealand, with 35 wickets in 7 Tests at under 20 runs each. His 8 for 76 at Auckland in 1976 is the best innings figure by an Indian bowler there. He is also the only Indian to take ten wickets in a Test in New Zealand. Zaheer Khan is next with 33 wickets in 7 Tests, ahead of Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and Bishan Bedi.
The Basin Reserve problem
Wellington has been the hardest ground of all for India. Their record there reads eight Tests, one win, five defeats and two draws. Their only innings defeat by New Zealand came here in 1976. The 2014 Test is remembered for Brendon McCullum’s 302, still the only Test triple-century by a New Zealander. On India’s last visit in 2020, New Zealand won by 10 wickets inside four days.
What it means for this series
None of India’s current squad has won a Test in New Zealand. Gill’s team has the pace attack to change that, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, with seamers like the newly called-up Gurnoor Brar in reserve. The history says New Zealand at home is one of the toughest assignments in Test cricket. It also says India have done it before.
For team news, probable XIs and pitch notes, read our NZ vs IND first Test preview.
Featured image: Sylvain Machefert / Symac / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0