The Indian cricket team will be looking to get off to a flying start on their all-format tour of New Zealand when they take on the hosts in the first T20I match of the five-match series on Thursday, October 22, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

The match will also be a rematch of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup final, where the Men in Blue beat the Kiwis by a comprehensive margin of 96 runs to win their second consecutive and third overall T20 World Cup title in Ahmedabad.

The two teams share an interesting rivalry in the shortest format of cricket, which began in 2007, with the Indian side waiting 10 years before securing their first-ever T20I win over New Zealand in 2017.

While New Zealand were undefeated against India in the first five T20Is, India flipped the switch after that, winning 19 of the next 26 head-to-head encounters, including a rare tied T20I match in 2022.

But how do India and New Zealand compare against each other in T20I cricket? Here’s a look at their head-to-head record.

India vs New Zealand: Head-to-head in T20Is

What happened when India last met New Zealand in a T20I match?

The last T20I match India played against New Zealand was the final of the ICC T20 World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8, 2026. New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and invited defending champions India to bat first.

The Indian side accepted the invitation with open arms as Sanju Samson (89 runs off 46 balls), Abhishek Sharma (52 runs off 21 balls) and Ishan Kishan (54 runs off 25 balls) scored blistering half-centuries, followed by a fiery cameo of 26 not out off just 8 balls by Shivam Dube, as the Men in Blue posted a strong total of 255 for 5 on the board.

What happened when India last visited New Zealand for a T20I series?

India last visited New Zealand for a T20I series in 2022 for a three-match series. The first match of the series was supposed to be played in Wellington; however, the game was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain.

In the second match, New Zealand won the toss and invited India to bat first. With the help of Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten century of 111 off 51 balls, India posted a strong total of 191 for 6 on the board. In reply, the Kiwis were bundled out for just 126 as India won the game by 65 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series.

In the third game, New Zealand again won the toss but this time opted to bat first. The hosts, with the help of half-centuries from Devon Conway (59 runs off 49 balls) and Glenn Phillips (54 runs off 33 balls), put a challenging target of 161 runs in front of India.

The Kiwi bowlers took control of the match and reduced India to 75/4 after the nine-over mark before rain ruled out any possibility of the match resuming. Both teams were tied as per the DLS method at that point, which eventually resulted in the match being declared a tie, handing India a 1-0 win in the series.