Pakistan National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Timeline

The Pakistan vs New Zealand rivalry began in 1955 when both teams played their first test against one another. As we look at the Pakistan National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Timeline, we can see that both teams have had their fair share of fiery and thrilling competitions.

The Pakistan National Cricket Team didn't lose a test series to New Zealand until 1975, which demonstrated what they were capable of doing on the field. In 2009, New Zealand proved what they were made of by defeating Pakistan in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Since then, both teams have had their bittersweet version of an endless rivalry. As we moved from test matches to T20 matches, we have watched how both teams have carried themselves on the larger stage.

In this article, we will expand on the Pakistan National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team timeline and look back through the exciting matches between the two countries/teams and really break down the match and key components of each.

Early Encounters (1955-1970s)

1. 1955-1956 Pakistan v New Zealand: On 13 October 1955, Pakistan played New Zealand in their first Test match in Karachi. A win by an innings and 1 run indicated Pakistan could compete.
2. 1969-1970 Pakistan v New Zealand—New Zealand won the Test series 1-0 with three matches. The first Test and the last Test were drawn, with New Zealand winning the second Test match by 5 wickets. New Zealand had many contributors, including Bruce Murray (90), Brian Hastings (80*), Hedley Howarth, and Victor Pollard.
3. 1972-73 New Zealand v Pakistan - The two teams played for the first time in an ODI on 11 February 1973, and New Zealand batted first. New Zealand won the ODI by 22 runs in Christchurch. In that game, New Zealand had put Pakistan in at 188. Sarfraz Nawaz took 4 wickets in that match. Pakistan were 165 all out, and were dismissed with Dayle Hadlee having taken 4 wickets.
4. 1976-1977 Pakistan v New Zealand: A close encounter that was recorded in history, and a very close game had only been won narrowly by New Zealand by a margin of 1 run from a game that was very close and came down to the finest margins and the final delivery. New Zealand scored 198 all out while Pakistan, chasing 199, was all out for 198. It is worth special mention that Glenn Turner, having opened the batting for New Zealand, scored 67.
5. Following this, both sides continued to play Tests and ODIs. Even though Pakistan was still marginally ahead in both formats, New Zealand was able to challenge them with a good series of performances, winning incredibly close matches that witnessed some phenomenal individual performances that provided drama and entertainment for both Pakistan and New Zealand supporters.

1980 - 1990: Competition Begins:

1. Placing Test matches aside, the competitive aspect of encounters began to surface, particularly after the 1980s. New Zealand was beginning to build power through younger players such as Glenn Turner and Richard Hadlee, while Pakistan included players with true, world-class talent such as Zaheer Abbas and Imran Khan, who propelled their side's performance.
2. Prudential World Cup 1983 - The match is considered a key moment in the rivalry between the two nations. New Zealand won the 6th match of the tournament by 52 runs, whilst Pakistan won the 22nd match of the tournament by 11 runs. Zaheer Abbas (103*) and Imran Khan scored an unbeaten 79 with just 3 wickets down to claim victory for Pakistan.
3. 1985-1986 Austral Asia Cup- The two teams met in the Sharjah Stadium for the second semi-final of the tournament. In this game, Pakistan won the match by 10 wickets. New Zealand’s poor performance made the run chase easy for Pakistan. While the Kiwis were dismissed for 64 runs, Pakistan effortlessly won the match, due to Mudassar Nazar and Mohsin Khan’s partnership for 66 runs.

1991 to 2000s: Rivalry became Intense

1. 1991-1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup - Both teams met for the 1st semi-final in Auckland on 21st March, 1992. In this match, Pakistan emerged victorious by defeating the Black Caps by 4 wickets. New Zealand came on the ground and scored 262 runs with 7 wickets down. Pakistan chased the target with just 6 wickets down, scoring 264 in 49 overs. Key contributors to Pakistan’s run chase were Inzamam-ul-Haq (60), Javed Miandad (57*), Ramiz Raja (44), and Imran Khan (44).
2. 1996-1997 Pakistan v New Zealand: The 2-match Test series ended 1-1 match win. New Zealand toured Pakistan and won the 1st Test. Pakistan displayed their calibre on the home ground with a powerful performance in the second game and defeated New Zealand by an innings and 13 runs.
3. 1999 ICC World Cup: Pakistan again proved its cricketing prowess over New Zealand in the ICC World Cup by defeating the Kiwis in the 1st Semi-Final of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Saeed Anwar struck an untouchable 113 with a partnership of 194 with Wajahatullah Wasti. Shoaib Akhtar claimed three crucial wickets that contributed to restricting New Zealand to 241 runs. Pakistan heads to the finals, where they lost to Australia by 8 wickets.
4. 2000-2001 ICC Knock-Out: The 1st Semi-Final of the ICC Champions Trophy held on 11th October 2000, was won by New Zealand. Opting to bat first, Pakistan set a 253-run target for New Zealand, which New Zealand claimed with just 6 wickets down. New Zealand went on to the finals, where they beat India to claim the title.
5. 2003-2004 New Zealand v Pakistan: The two-match Test series between Pakistan and New Zealand was held in New Zealand. The first match between the two teams concluded in a tie, while the second was won by New Zealand. Shoaib Akhtar was awarded the player of the match award for his outstanding bowling. Inzamam-ul-Haq (72) and Muhammad Yousuf (88) contributed significantly to Pakistan's victory.
6. 2007-2008 ICC World Twenty20: In 2007-2008, both teams met for T20I matches. New Zealand played their debut Twenty20 match against Pakistan in the tournament's inaugural semi-final. New Zealand batters were dismissed for 143 runs with 8 wickets down. Pakistan successfully used the best cricketers, Imran Nazir (59) and Mohammad Hafeez (32), to begin the innings. Shoaib Malik entered the game and gave Pakistan the victory with a score of 26. With his bowling, Umar Gul was bestowed with taking important wickets.
7. 2009-2010 ICC Champions Trophy: In the ICC Champions Trophy's second semifinal, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by five wickets. Restricting Pakistan to 233, New Zealand produced 234 runs. 41 runs by Daniel Vettori, and Grant Elliott's unbeatable 75 were key contributors to New Zealand's run chase.

2011 to 2020 Period of Energetic Performances between the two teams:

1. 2010-2011 Pakistan vs New Zealand: New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in the first match of the T20I. Martin Guptill and Rose Taylor were emerging players in the team, leading to the New Zealand win.
2. 2014-2015 Pakistan v New Zealand: New Zealand won this 5-match ODI series by 3-2. The series saw the emerging new players from both sides. Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, and Matt Henry were the rising stars of the team. On the other hand, Mohammad Irfan, Haris Sohail, Ahmed Shehzad, and Mohammad Hafeez were notable players of Pakistan.
3. 2018-2019 Pakistan v New Zealand: New Zealand won in the three-match Test series, winning 2-1 against Pakistan. New Zealand won the 1st and 3rd matches of the series by 4 runs and 123 runs, respectively. Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Trent Boult, William Somerville, and Ajaz Patel were some of the remarkable players in the squad.
4. 2018-2019 Pakistan v New Zealand: Pakistani cricketers and New Zealand players again met for a T20I match in the UAE. Pakistan defeated New Zealand and won the series 3-0. The first match was a game-changer as Pakistan won the game by just 2 runs.
5. 2019 ICC World Cup: In this match, Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 6 wickets on the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham. The game was held on 26th June 2019. Babar Azam’s chase of the century with 101 runs is historical in the New Zealand-Pakistan rivalry. However, later, New Zealand qualified for the finals, where they lost to England on boundary count.

2020 to Recent Matches:

1. 2020-2021 New Zealand v Pakistan: New Zealand has an upper hand against Pakistan in recent games. The highly predicted series proved to be one-sided as New Zealand won by 101 runs and an innings and 176 runs in the first and second games, respectively. Pakistan lost several matches in the T20 20-2021.
2. 2024-2025 Pakistan Tri-Nation: The 1st-match of the ODI series held in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on 8th February, 2025, which was won by New Zealand with 78 runs. Glenn Phillips’s (106 runs)and Daryl Mitchell's (81 runs) are unbeaten in the first game.
3. 2024-2025 New Zealand v Pakistan: A 5-match T20I series was played between Pakistan and New Zealand, which concluded with New Zealand winning the series 4-1.