The Indian cricket team is all set to kick off their all-format tour of New Zealand, starting with a five-match T20I series on Thursday, October 22, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. In the 41-day-long tour, India, along with the T20Is, will also face the Kiwis in five ODIs and two Test matches.
In recent years, the India vs New Zealand rivalry has taken a new form across formats as the two teams have constantly faced each other in high-stakes matches. From the semifinals of the ODI World Cups in 2019 and 2023 to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) in 2021 and the final of the T20I World Cup earlier this year, the two sides have proved to be formidable opponents for each other.
The two-match Test series will be the most anticipated leg of the series. Both teams are eyeing a spot in the 2025-27 WTC final, and the outcome of the series will play a crucial part in their qualification chances.
India will also be looking to avenge their 0-3 Test series loss at the hands of the Kiwis at home in 2024, which ended their 12-year unbeaten run in red-ball cricket on home soil.
One of the most important factors on the tour is going to be batting, as both sides boast strong, in-form batting line-ups. Meanwhile, whichever side performs well with the bat will get the upper hand on the tour.
Keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at the top run-getters in India vs New Zealand matches across all three formats, i.e. Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
Most runs in India vs New Zealand Tests
The two sides first faced each other in a Test match back in 1955, and in the 71 years since then, they have taken the field against each other in 65 matches, out of which New Zealand have won 22, India have won 16, while 27 matches have ended in draws.
Top 10 highest run-scorers in India vs New Zealand Tests:
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 | 4s | 6s |
| R Dravid (IND) | 1998-2010 | 15 | 28 | 2 | 1659 | 222 | 63.80 | 3668 | 45.22 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 223 | 2 |
| SR Tendulkar (IND) | 1990-2012 | 24 | 39 | 5 | 1595 | 217 | 46.91 | 2997 | 53.21 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 212 | 6 |
| BB McCullum (NZ) | 2009-2014 | 10 | 19 | 1 | 1224 | 302 | 68.00 | 2013 | 60.80 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 141 | 13 |
| GT Dowling (NZ) | 1965-1969 | 11 | 22 | 2 | 964 | 239 | 48.20 | – | – | 3 | 2 | 2 | 61+ | 11 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 2012-2024 | 14 | 27 | 2 | 959 | 211 | 38.36 | 1779 | 53.90 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 116 | 4 |
| LRPL Taylor (NZ) | 2009-2021 | 17 | 31 | 2 | 890 | 151 | 30.68 | 1584 | 56.18 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 117 | 6 |
| B Sutcliffe (NZ) | 1955-1965 | 9 | 16 | 3 | 885 | 230* | 68.07 | – | – | 3 | 3 | 0 | 75+ | 0 |
| V Sehwag (IND) | 2002-2012 | 12 | 21 | 1 | 883 | 173 | 44.15 | 1059 | 83.38 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 131 | 10 |
| KS Williamson (NZ) | 2010-2021 | 13 | 24 | 1 | 871 | 131 | 37.86 | 1997 | 43.61 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 93 | 2 |
| CA Pujara (IND) | 2012-2021 | 12 | 23 | 1 | 867 | 159 | 39.40 | 2061 | 42.06 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 108 | 3 |
Most runs in India vs New Zealand ODIs
India and New Zealand have so far faced each other in 123 ODI matches, out of which India have won 63, New Zealand have won 52, one match ended in a tie, while seven games ended in no result.
Just like in Tests, India hold the top two spots in the top 10 highest run-scorers list in ODI cricket between India and New Zealand, as Virat Kohli (1,897 runs) holds the top spot, while Sachin Tendulkar (1,750 runs) is in second place. New Zealand’s Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson are the next two on the list with 1,385 and 1,239 runs, respectively.
Top 10 highest run-scorers in India vs New Zealand ODIs:
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 | 4s | 6s |
| V Kohli (IND) | 2010-2026 | 36 | 36 | 3 | 1897 | 154* | 57.48 | 1963 | 96.63 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 168 | 28 |
| SR Tendulkar (IND) | 1990-2009 | 42 | 41 | 3 | 1750 | 186* | 46.05 | 1835 | 95.36 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 206 | 26 |
| LRPL Taylor (NZ) | 2009-2020 | 35 | 34 | 5 | 1385 | 112* | 47.75 | 1634 | 84.76 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 120 | 18 |
| KS Williamson (NZ) | 2010-2025 | 31 | 30 | 2 | 1239 | 118 | 44.25 | 1639 | 75.59 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 113 | 10 |
| NJ Astle (NZ) | 1995-2005 | 29 | 29 | 1 | 1207 | 120 | 43.10 | 1520 | 79.40 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 119 | 9 |
| V Sehwag (IND) | 2001-2010 | 23 | 23 | 1 | 1157 | 130 | 52.59 | 1113 | 103.95 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 152 | 22 |
| RG Sharma (IND) | 2009-2026 | 34 | 32 | 1 | 1134 | 147 | 36.58 | 1330 | 85.26 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 102 | 49 |
| M Azharuddin (IND) | 1985-1999 | 40 | 39 | 8 | 1118 | 108* | 36.06 | 1483 | 75.38 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 83 | 9 |
| SP Fleming (NZ) | 1994-2005 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 1098 | 90 | 32.29 | 1530 | 71.76 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 114 | 5 |
| SC Ganguly (IND) | 1997-2005 | 32 | 31 | 1 | 1079 | 153* | 35.96 | 1454 | 74.20 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 126 | 10 |
Most runs in India vs New Zealand T20Is
India and New Zealand have faced each other in 31 T20Is to date, out of which New Zealand have won 19, India have won 11, while one match ended in a tie.
Despite having the advantage in head-to-head numbers, India once again lead the top run-scorers list in India vs New Zealand T20Is, as former Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, with 526 runs, is in the top spot, while another former Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, with 511 runs, is in second place.
New Zealand’s Tim Seifert, with 477 runs, is in third place. However, with neither Rohit nor Surya being part of the series, Seifert will have the chance to claim the top spot if he manages to score at least 50 runs.
Top 10 highest run-scorers in India vs New Zealand T20Is:
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 | 4s | 6s |
| SA Yadav (IND) | 2021-2026 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 526 | 111* | 52.60 | 309 | 170.22 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 51 | 29 |
| RG Sharma (IND) | 2009-2021 | 17 | 17 | 2 | 511 | 80 | 34.06 | 362 | 141.16 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 37 | 27 |
| TL Seifert (NZ) | 2019-2026 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 477 | 84 | 34.07 | 312 | 152.88 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 26 |
| C Munro (NZ) | 2016-2020 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 426 | 109* | 38.72 | 286 | 148.95 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 24 |
| KS Williamson (NZ) | 2012-2022 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 419 | 95 | 34.91 | 322 | 130.12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 16 |
| DJ Mitchell (NZ) | 2019-2026 | 20 | 20 | 3 | 383 | 59* | 22.52 | 258 | 148.44 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 19 |
| MJ Guptill (NZ) | 2009-2021 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 380 | 70 | 23.75 | 290 | 131.03 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 23 |
| Ishan Kishan (IND) | 2021-2026 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 372 | 103 | 31.00 | 229 | 162.44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 22 |
| LRPL Taylor (NZ) | 2007-2020 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 349 | 54* | 34.90 | 270 | 129.25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 14 |
| KL Rahul (IND) | 2020-2021 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 322 | 65 | 46.00 | 234 | 137.60 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 13 |
India tour of New Zealand 2026: Full schedule
| Match | Date | City | Venue | Start time (IST) |
| 1st T20I | Thursday, October 22, 2026 | Christchurch | Hagley Oval | 12:30 PM IST |
| 2nd T20I | Saturday, October 24, 2026 | Christchurch | Hagley Oval | 12:30 PM IST |
| 3rd T20I | Tuesday, October 27, 2026 | Wellington | Sky Stadium | 12:30 PM IST |
| 4th T20I | Friday, October 30, 2026 | Auckland | Eden Park | 12:30 PM IST |
| 5th T20I | Sunday, November 1, 2026 | Hamilton | Seddon Park | 12:30 PM IST |
| 1st ODI | Wednesday, November 4, 2026 | Auckland | Eden Park | 7:30 AM IST |
| 2nd ODI | Saturday, November 7, 2026 | Wellington | Sky Stadium | 7:30 AM IST |
| 3rd ODI | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 | Hamilton | Seddon Park | 7:30 AM IST |
| 4th ODI | Friday, November 13, 2026 | Mount Maunganui | Bay Oval | 7:30 AM IST |
| 5th ODI | Sunday, November 15, 2026 | Mount Maunganui | Bay Oval | 7:30 AM IST |
| 1st Test | Thursday, November 19, 2026 | Wellington | Basin Reserve | 3:30 AM IST |
| 2nd Test | Friday, November 27, 2026 | Christchurch | Hagley Oval | 3:30 AM IST |
