In 233 total international matches played between the new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team, Pakistan have won 110 and New Zealand have won 94, with 1 tied, 23 drawn, and 5 no-results.
But here is the number that changes everything: since January 2024, New Zealand have won over 70% of their matches against Pakistan across all formats. The historical lead belongs to Pakistan. The current momentum belongs entirely to New Zealand.
| Format | Matches | NZ Wins | PAK Wins | Drawn/NR |
| Tests | 62 | 14 | 25 | 23 draws |
| ODIs | 122 | 57 | 61 | 3 NR, 1 tied |
| T20Is | 49 | 23 | 24 | 2 NR |
| Overall | 233 | 94 | 110 | 5 NR, 1 tied, 23 drawn |
Recent Form Snapshot (Last 10 Matches)
New Zealand lead the last 10 encounters 6–4.
This is not a small sample. These 10 matches span three formats, two continents, and two major ICC tournaments. The new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team balance of power has structurally shifted.
| Match | Result | Format | Venue |
| T20 WC 2026 Super 8 | No Result (rain) | T20I | Colombo |
| 5th T20I, NZ tour of PAK 2025 | NZ won | T20I | Pakistan |
| 4th T20I, NZ tour of PAK 2025 | NZ won by 115 runs | T20I | Pakistan |
| 3rd ODI, NZ in NZ 2025 | NZ won by 43 runs | ODI | Mt. Maunganui |
| 2nd ODI, NZ in NZ 2025 | NZ won by 84 runs | ODI | Hamilton |
| 1st ODI, NZ in NZ 2025 | NZ won by 73 runs | ODI | Napier |
| Champions Trophy 2025 | NZ won by 60 runs | ODI | Karachi |
| Tri-Nation Final 2025 | NZ won by 5 wkts | ODI | Karachi |
Full History: New Zealand vs Pakistan Since 1955
The new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team rivalry began on January 20, 1955, in Karachi. Pakistan won that first Test. They have been winning Tests for most of the seven decades since.
But cricket is not a single chapter. This rivalry has been rewritten multiple times.
1955–1990: Pakistan’s Foundation of Dominance
Pakistan’s early advantage was built on pace and swing in conditions they understood better than any visiting side. Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, and Imran Khan were the weapons. New Zealand, competitive at home, consistently struggled in Asia against world-class seam and spin bowling.
In this era, Pakistan won series both home and away. New Zealand occasionally pushed close but the gap in match-winning ability was real and consistent.
1990–2010: New Zealand Find Their Feet
New Zealand began to fight back. Compelling names like Stephen Fleming, Shane Bond, and Daniel Vettori gave the Black Caps an identity. Bond’s express pace and Vettori’s classical left-arm spin created genuine pressure that Pakistan had not faced from a New Zealand team before.
The ODI record tightened dramatically. New Zealand began winning bilateral series. Pakistan’s dominance was no longer automatic especially in New Zealand’s home conditions where Kiwi seamers found the pitch movement they needed.
2010–2022: The Modern Rivalry Takes Shape
The T20I format brought a new competitive angle to the new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team contest. Pakistan’s destructive T20 batting with Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, and the Babar–Rizwan era beginning created a side that was genuinely dangerous in the shortest format.
The 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final in Sydney became the single most defining night of the modern rivalry. New Zealand set 152. Pakistan chased it without losing a single wicket. Mohammad Rizwan scored 57* and Babar Azam hit an unbeaten 53. The chase was completed in 18.1 overs.
New Zealand bowled 18 overs of disciplined cricket and took zero wickets. It was a reminder of the one tactical problem the Black Caps have never fully solved: elite T20 opening partnerships can neutralize even the best-drilled bowling attacks.
The 2025 Champions Trophy Opener: The Match That Redefined This Rivalry
New Zealand beat Pakistan by 60 runs in Karachi on February 19, 2025, in the ICC Champions Trophy opener.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first presumably expecting early swing at the National Stadium. What followed was one of the most complete batting performances New Zealand have ever produced on Pakistani soil.
Batting Masterclass: Latham and Young
Will Young (107 off 113) and Tom Latham (118* off 104) rebuilt from 40/2 with a partnership of 175 runs. Neither batter was reckless. Both were precise, rotating strike, identifying bad balls, and punishing anything short or full.
What most people miss: Pakistan’s pacers were not bad. Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah were all playing. The Kiwis simply had a better game plan and executed it with exceptional composure under pressure.
The Death-Over Acceleration
When Glenn Phillips arrived at No. 6 and smashed 61 off 39 deliveries, New Zealand went from 191/4 to 316/5 producing 125 runs in the final 12 overs. The last 10 overs alone produced 113 runs.
This is the tactical edge that Pakistan’s bowling attack currently has no answer for: New Zealand’s batting goes six-deep with match-finishers, not just top-order builders.
Pakistan’s Collapse
Chasing 317, Pakistan were bowled out for 260. Mitchell Santner took 3/52 and Will O’Rourke took 3/46. Pakistan’s chase had early momentum they reached 100/2 but Santner’s left-arm spin through the middle overs created relentless pressure and wickets fell in clusters.
The 2025 Power Shift: Why the New Zealand National Cricket Team vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Balance Has Changed
Between February 2025 and April 2025 alone, the new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team record shows New Zealand winning seven consecutive matches across formats.
This is not variance. This is structural dominance.
Three Core Reasons New Zealand Are Winning
1. Will O’Rourke’s Awkward Pace
O’Rourke is 6ft 7in tall. His bounce comes from a steep angle that most batters especially those who play in Asian conditions are not conditioned to handle. Pakistan’s middle-order batters, who thrive against full-length seam and predictable spin, simply have no practiced answer for extra steep bounce off a good length.
In the 4th T20I of the NZ tour of Pakistan 2025, New Zealand bowled Pakistan out for just 105 in 16.2 overs. O’Rourke was unplayable.
2. Mitchell Santner’s Evolution
Santner is no longer a defensive spinner. Since 2024, he has been Pakistan’s most consistent wicket-taker problem in the middle overs of ODIs. Pakistani middle-order batters Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Agha Salman repeatedly fall to the same delivery: a full, turning delivery on middle stump that straightens through the gate.
3. Six-Deep Batting Depth
Latham, Young, Conway, Williamson, Mitchell, Phillips any two of these six can build a 150+ partnership on any given day. Pakistan’s bowling attack, even at full strength, cannot target a single weakness in New Zealand’s batting order because there isn’t one. This depth is new. Pre-2024 New Zealand routinely collapsed after losing two or three early wickets.
Pakistan’s Real Strengths: Where They Still Have the Edge
The new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team story is not one-sided and anyone who presents it that way is missing the full picture.
Asian Conditions Are Pakistan’s Fortress
In Pakistan’s last home series against New Zealand (the 2025 NZ Tour of Pakistan T20Is), Pakistan won 3 of the 5 T20Is. The Dubai conditions, the low and slow pitches of Karachi and Lahore, and the mystery spin of Abrar Ahmed completely nullified New Zealand’s batting plans.
In the 2025 Champions Trophy, Abrar Ahmed dismissed Will Young with a googly Young had no read on a clean bowled delivery that exposed the fundamental difficulty Kiwi batters face against quality wrist-spin on turning tracks. In Asian conditions, Pakistan’s home advantage is not psychological. It is technical.
Babar–Rizwan: Still the Most Dangerous Opening Partnership in T20Is
When both fire together, this combination is almost impossible to dismiss. The 2022 T20 WC semi-final nine-wicket win is the clearest proof. But even in their recent losses, Rizwan and Babar have consistently started well it’s the middle-order collapse that undoes Pakistan’s chase.
The counterintuitive truth: the rivalry is not as lopsided as New Zealand’s 2024–2025 results suggest. Relocate every one of those matches to Lahore, and Pakistan win at least four of them.
T20 World Cup 2026: Match Abandoned, Rivalry Unresolved
At the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 21, 2026, the new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team Super Eights clash was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain. Both teams shared one point each.
Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bat a decision that became irrelevant within minutes as rain arrived. Both sides had qualified for the Super Eights. Pakistan came through Group A as the second team behind India, while New Zealand advanced from Group B.
What you must watch going forward: Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy for Pakistan. He favors top-order aggression and fast-bowling reinforcement. New Zealand’s collective, system-based approach under Latham leans on process and depth. That philosophical contrast will decide how their next full bilateral series plays out.
The Tactical Blueprint: Four Factors That Decide Every NZ vs PAK Match
Based on the last 18 months of the new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team contest, these are the genuine match-deciding factors:
- Toss and conditions: New Zealand’s seam attack thrives in cool, overcast New Zealand mornings. Pakistan’s spinners thrive on low, slow subcontinental pitches. The toss matters more in this rivalry than almost any other bilateral contest.
- Opening partnerships in T20Is: When Babar and Rizwan bat through the powerplay together, Pakistan win. When they fall inside the first six overs, Pakistan struggle to rebuild. New Zealand’s bowling plan revolves entirely around taking one of these two wickets by over six.
- Death bowling (overs 16–20 / 41–50): New Zealand’s death bowling has been exceptional since 2024 O’Rourke and Matt Henry are consistent in the final overs. Pakistan’s death bowling has been an unsolved management problem since the 2021 T20 World Cup.
- Middle-order composure at crisis point: Both teams have middle-order batters capable of either winning or losing a close chase. Who maintains composure at 120/3 in a T20 chase that single at-bat moment is often the entire answer to who wins the game.
Key Records in the NZ vs Pakistan Rivalry
- Highest ODI total: New Zealand 344/9 at Napier, March 2025
- Highest T20I win margin: New Zealand beat Pakistan by 115 runs (4th T20I, 2025) Pakistan bowled out for 105
- Pakistan’s lowest T20I vs NZ: 91 all out in Christchurch, March 2025
- Largest overall head-to-head gap: Pakistan lead by 16 wins across all formats
- Best recent bowling figure: Matt Henry’s 4-wicket haul in the 2025 Champions Trophy group stage
- Most consecutive NZ wins in ODIs vs PAK: 5 in a row (February–April 2025)
Read More About – Where To Watch Pakistan National Cricket Team Vs India National Cricket Team Live Every Streaming Option in 2026
Player Impact: The Names Who Make the Difference
New Zealand Match-Winners vs Pakistan
| Player | Role | Key Stat |
| Tom Latham | Batter | 118* in Champions Trophy Karachi |
| Will O’Rourke | Pacer | Career-best figures against Pakistan, multiple 3-wicket hauls |
| Mitchell Santner | Spinner | 3 wickets in CT opener consistent middle-over wicket-taker |
| Glenn Phillips | Finisher | 61 off 39 in CT opener changes match context in 3 overs |
Pakistan Match-Winners vs New Zealand
| Player | Role | Key Strength |
| Babar Azam | Batter | 53* in 2022 T20 WC semi-final unbeaten chase |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Wicketkeeper-batter | 57* in 2022 WC semi anchors T20I chases |
| Abrar Ahmed | Wrist-spinner | Dismissed Will Young with googly in CT 2025 |
| Shaheen Afridi | Pacer | Opening powerplay wickets in Asian conditions |
Final Verdict: Who Really Owns This Rivalry?
Historically: Pakistan. The 110 wins to 94 overall record is not an accident. It was built over 70 years and reflects genuine superiority across conditions, player quality, and match-winning ability.
Currently: New Zealand. Since January 2024, the new zealand national cricket team vs pakistan national cricket team momentum has shifted completely. Six consecutive ODI wins, a Champions Trophy statement, and a series victory in Pakistan’s own backyard tell a clear structural story.
Most competitive format: T20Is Pakistan lead 24–23, making this the one format where no prediction is reliable.The honest conclusion: Pakistan built this rivalry. New Zealand are redefining it. The T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights match rained off in Colombo left a genuine question unanswered. The next full bilateral series between these two sides will either confirm New Zealand’s era of dominance or remind the cricket world why Pakistan have always been unpredictable enough to reset any narrative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Who leads the overall head-to-head between New Zealand and Pakistan?
Ans. Pakistan lead the overall head-to-head with 110 wins from 233 matches. New Zealand have won 94. Overall, Pakistan hold a 16-win lead across all formats.
Q2. Who leads NZ vs Pakistan in Tests?
Ans. Pakistan lead the Test head-to-head 25–14 in 62 matches, with 23 draws. Pakistan’s lead was built primarily through dominance in Asian conditions across the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
Q3. Who leads NZ vs Pakistan in ODIs?
Pakistan lead ODIs 61–57 in 122 matches. However, New Zealand have won their last five consecutive ODIs against Pakistan between February and April 2025.
Q4. Who leads NZ vs Pakistan in T20Is?
Ans. Pakistan lead T20Is 24–23, making it the most evenly contested format in this rivalry. Two matches ended with no result.
Q5. What was the result of NZ vs Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy?
Ans. New Zealand beat Pakistan by 60 runs in Karachi on February 19, 2025. Tom Latham scored 118* and Will Young hit 107 as New Zealand posted 320/5. Pakistan were bowled out for 260.
Q6. Did NZ and Pakistan play in the T20 World Cup 2026?
Ans. Yes. Their Super Eights match was scheduled on February 21, 2026, at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, but was abandoned due to rain without a ball bowled. Both teams received one point each.
Q7. Who won the NZ vs Pakistan ODI series in 2025?
Ans. New Zealand won the home ODI series 3–0. Margins were 73 runs (Napier), 84 runs (Hamilton), and 43 runs (Mount Maunganui).
Q8. Why has New Zealand been dominating Pakistan since 2024?
Ans. Three reasons: Will O’Rourke’s steep bounce, Mitchell Santner’s middle-over wicket-taking, and six-deep batting depth across Latham, Young, Conway, Williamson, Mitchell, and Phillips. Pakistan’s middle-order inconsistency and death bowling issues have compounded the problem.
Q9. What is Pakistan’s strongest format against New Zealand?
Ans. Tests, where Pakistan lead 25–14. Their lead in Asian conditions is particularly significant, with New Zealand finding it difficult to compete against quality spinners on low, slow subcontinental pitches.
Q10. What was the biggest single-match win in recent NZ vs Pakistan T20I history?
Ans. New Zealand beat Pakistan by 115 runs in the 4th T20I during Pakistan’s 2025 tour of New Zealand. Pakistan were bowled out for just 105 in 16.2 overs. New Zealand scored 220/6.
