The IND vs NZ head-to-head record positions India nicely heading into the final of the Champions Trophy. The ‘Men in Blue’ have won 61 matches against the Blackcaps while losing 50. This head-to-head record, however, does not indicate how the two teams have fared in ICC tournaments. As multi-national tournaments are mostly played on neutral venues, the record between the two sides is crucial. Here, India, with a win a week before, has equalled New Zealand with 16 wins. Even though the Dubai International Cricket Stadium has been a home for India in CT 2025, it will still be counted as a neutral venue.
India and New Zealand have faced each other 17 times in ICC tournaments. India has a poor record in ICC tournaments against New Zealand. In these 17 games, the Blackcaps have won on 10 occasions. This makes the Kiwis an extremely dangerous opponent for the Indian team in the final of the Champions Trophy 2025. The upcoming IND vs NZ final could very well be affected by the past track record between the two sides in ICC tournaments.
The IND vs NZ head-to-head record at the Champions Trophy is pretty ordinary considering the fact that the two nations have met only twice in the history of the tournament. The first time these two sides met in CT, New Zealand came on top in the final of the second edition in 2000. The Kiwis registered a four-wicket victory courtesy of a century from Chris Cairns.
However, taking the recent form into account, India will be the happier side even though the head-to-head record in the Champions Trophy is equal. Thanks to a five-wicket haul from Varun Chakravarthy, India won the second fixture between the two nations in the marquee ICC event.
India and New Zealand played their first game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during the last group stage match of the ongoing tournament. The Men in Blue came on top, thanks to a maiden five-wicket haul from Varun Chakravarthy and a 79-run knock from Shreyas Iyer.
Scotland's Richie Berrington has scored the most runs at the Dubai International Stadium. He has scored 424 runs at the venue, however, India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, is only three runs adrift from breaking the record. Shahid Afridi has taken the most wickets at the stadium with 25 scalps next to his name. Among active players, Kuldeep Yadav has the most, having taken 15 wickets in 10 games.
The IND vs NZ head-to-head record will be affected by the behavior of the pitch at the Dubai International Stadium. In 62 matches that have been played at the venue, the chasing team has won 37 times. When India and New Zealand clashed at the same venue the week before, Mitchell Santner, after winning the toss, elected to bowl first but could not win the match.
Interestingly, teams that have lost the toss have won more games here in comparison to those who won the toss. Rohit Sharma’s horrific streak of losing tosses has helped to maintain this record. The Indian skipper has lost 11 tosses in a row, four of which have come at the Dubai International Stadium. However, India won each of these four games.
The Indian players hold most of the records in the IND vs NZ ODI matches. Among active players, Shubman Gill holds the record for making the highest individual score and recording the highest batting strike rate. Apart from Gill, his teammate in CT 2025, Mohammed Shami, holds the record for the best bowling figures. Shami made this record in the previous meeting between the two sides in ODIs.
The IND vs NZ head-to-head record will be impacted by some of the high-performing X-factor players from both sides. These players have the potential to win matches for their teams single-handedly. Even though cricket is a team sport and efforts from most players are required to win a match, there are a few players who can win a match on their own. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rachin Ravindra, and Matt Henry are a few of the great cricketers who will take the field on Sunday when these two teams meet in the final group stage match of the Champions Trophy.
There has probably not been a great X-factor player other than Virat Kohli in ODIs. The Indian batter holds multiple records in the format, including scoring the most centuries. He is also known as the king of chases in ODIs. His mastery was on display against Pakistan and Australia. Against the co-hosts, Kohli made a scintillating unbeaten to record his 52nd in the format. In the semifinals, against the Aussies, the Indian great scored 84 runs and sealed the victory for the Men in Blue. He was named the Player of the Match on both occasions.
Shreyas Iyer, along with Kohli, has been India’s best batter in the Champions Trophy. Even though the right-handed batter has played with a lower-than-usual strike rate, he has been the match-winner for the Rohit Sharma-led side. Iyer has scored 195 runs in the ongoing tournament and is India’s top scorer after Kohli. He has a great record against New Zealand in the format. The Indian right-handed batter has scored 563 runs in eight innings against the Blackcaps while averaging more than 70. He would be a key player for India as they try to win the Champions Trophy.
Not many would have predicted that Varun Chakravarthy would ever be representing India in an ODI a few months back. Against New Zealand in the final, he could be as important as Kuldeep Yadav when it comes to leading the spin bowling attack. Chakravarthy has improved his bowling by leaps and bounds since the start of the IPL last year. In ODIs, the mystery spinner recorded a maiden five-wicket haul the previous week against the Kiwis.
Kane Williamson is New Zealand’s finest batter, and he has struck form in CT 2025 at the most crucial juncture. He started the tournament with a couple of single-digit scores, but the Kiwis won the games, so there were no alarm bells. Against India in the third game, the former skipper made 81 runs in 120 balls in a losing cause. However, he came back to his best form against South Africa with a century in the semi-final.
Rachin Ravindra, coming after an injury to head, scored a century against Bangladesh in his first game in the Champions Trophy. He scored another century in the semi-final against South Africa. The left-handed batter was named the Player of the Match in the two games. He has played three games so far in the tournament and registered two hundreds. However, the only time he failed to make a substantial score was against India.
Matt Henry, in the absence of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, has been given the responsibility to lead the pace attack for the Kiwis. Like Williamson, Henry, too, started the Champions Trophy with a couple of under-par performances. However, he sprung back into form against India with a five-wicket haul. The right-arm pacer leads the chart for taking the most wickets in the tournament. He has taken 10 wickets in the Champions Trophy.
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