The much-awaited India-New Zealand series will kick start from February 9 with a one-off T20I followed by a five-match ODI series. The two teams have played quite a few times against each other, 48 times to be precise, with New Zealand dominating the duel with 29 wins to India’s 19. Out of the 49 encounters, there has been a solitary tied match.
Here are the top five ODI matches played between India and New Zealand:
December 17, 1997: Tied match
To date, this has been the solitary match that ended in a tie between India and New Zealand. This match was played during the 1997 World Cup hosted by India. The match was played at Indore. Batting first New Zealand posted 176-9 in 50 overs and in reply, India were bowled out for 176 in 49.1 overs. The nail-biting contest ended in a tie as both the teams had equal runs on board. For New Zealand, Emily Drumm top scored with 69, whereas for India, Anju Jain was the top run-getter with 61 runs. With the ball, New Zealand’s Clare Nicholson struck with 2-21 in her 10 overs, while for India Purnima Rau was the leader of the pack with 3-35 in her 10 overs.
December 20, 2000: New Zealand won by 9 wickets
This was New Zealand’s biggest win over India in terms of wickets and balls to spare. New Zealand beat India during the semi-final of the 2000 World Cup by nine wickets and 139 balls to spare. At Lincoln, India were bundled out for a paltry 117 in 45.2 overs and in reply, New Zealand chased down the target in just 26.5 overs. Purnima Rau top-scored for India with 67 runs and Neetu David was the lone wicket-taker. For New Zealand, Anna Smith scored an unbeaten half-century and Clare Nicholson starred with the ball picking up 2-15.
December 7, 2003: India won by 9 wickets
This was India’s biggest win over New Zealand in terms of wickets in hand. In the second ODI of the bilateral series that was played at Aurangabad, New Zealand put together 207-7 in 50 overs. In reply, India achieved the target in 47.5 overs, losing just one wicket. Maia Lewis top-scored for New Zealand with 47 runs and Rebecca Steele was the only bowler to take up a wicket. For India, Jaya Sharma led the run chase with an unbeaten 96, and Nooshin Al Khadeer was the top performer with the ball picking up 2-30.
March 13, 2006: New Zealand won by 210 runs
This was New Zealand’s biggest win over India in terms of runs. In the fifth ODI of India’s tour of Australia and New Zealand, India and New Zealand locked horns against each other at Lincoln. Batting first, New Zealand posted a daunting 272-7 in 50 overs. In reply, India were done and dusted for a paltry 62 in 28.2 overs, losing the match by 210 runs. Haidee Tiffin top-scored for New Zealand with 79 runs and Sarah Burke was the most effective bowler with figures of 3-17 in her 10 overs. For India, Karuna Jain top scored with 19 runs and Neetu David accounted for 3-44 in her 10 overs.
March 27, 2017: India won by 186 runs
This was India’s biggest win over New Zealand in terms of runs. The two teams faced off against each other during one of the matches of the 2017 World Cup in England. Batting first at Derby, India piled up 265-7 in 50 overs, thanks to Mithali Raj’s scintillating century. In reply, New Zealand could only manage 79 in 25.3 overs as they were bowled out dearly. Rajeshwari Gayakwad was the wrecker-in-chief as she scalped 5-15 in 7.3 overs. For New Zealand, Amy Satterthwaite top scored with 26 runs and Leigh Kasperek was the pick of the bowlers with 3-45 in 10 overs.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
