More than seventy years have elapsed since the start of the cricketing rivalry between New Zealand and Pakistan. The two teams have battled against each other on many different occasions throughout their history, developing a healthy rivalry between the two nations. Since the 1950s, when they played each other for the first time and many significant matches occurred between the teams, their rivalry has become a storied tale in cricket history. In addition to that, the timeline demonstrates how the rivalry has progressed over the years, through notable achievements and matches that influenced their development as competing sides.
1955-1960: The Start of the Rivalry
The beginning of the Kiwi-Pakistani rivalry dates back to the year 1955, when the first Test series between New Zealand and Pakistan took place. At that time, Pakistan was still new to Test cricket, so it was an excellent opportunity for New Zealand to participate in its first-ever Test series against another international team. The first test series in 1955 featured New Zealand’s first Test match win against a Test-playing nation. The outcome was a testament to Pakistan’s early success in spin bowling and tactical discipline. New Zealand struggled against Fazal Mahmood’s bowling during this time period.
The 1958-59 home series in New Zealand between Pakistan and New Zealand was a greater balance of play than the previous series. The seam-friendly conditions and cooler weather in New Zealand equalized the competition and allowed both sides to present serious competition to each other. While neither team was a global powerhouse, the series established a rivalry between the two teams based on contrasting strengths—the flair, speed, and spin of the Pakistani team and the discipline and seam bowling of the New Zealand team.
In the 1970s, Competitive Balance Grew
The 1970s was a period of significant growth of both Pakistan and New Zealand, with Pakistan emerging as a team that was bringing world-class talent—many young players such as Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, and Javed Miandad—to the scene. New Zealand also experienced a re-growth of talent with the introduction of Glenn Turner (and subsequently Richard Hadlee), changing the structure of the team’s bowling attack.
The 1973 Pakistan tour of New Zealand had produced some very close Test matches. However, it was the 1976-77 Pakistani series that intensified the rivalry. The young Javed Miandad produced many high scores, and the spin bowlers of Pakistan excelled on their characters’ home soil. For the New Zealand team, while Glenn Turner was a strong performer, the team lacked the overall depth it needed to compete with growing Pakistani confidence.
In the year 1979, Pakistan made an impressive appearance (over) the borders of New Zealand, expecting to do very well; however, they struggled with seaming pitches and the amazing bowling of Richard Hadlee; as such, the intensity of all three Test matches was increased, whilst it also demonstrated how home conditions were becoming a key element in determining this rivalry.
1980s: Richard Hadlee vs Pakistan’s Golden Generation
During the 1980’s New Zealand vs Pakistan cricket will be viewed as one of the most exciting periods in terms of both teams operating at a higher level nationally and the contests between the two were of a genuine world-class standard. In 1985, Pakistan visited New Zealand for a high-profile Test series in which Richard Hadlee provided one of the most spectacular examples of fast bowling witnessed on New Zealand soil.
The competition between Richard Hadlee’s style of fast bowling and the elegant batting styles of some of Pakistan’s technically outstanding batsmen (Miandad, Mudassar Nazar and Saleem Malik) was central to this rivalry and although the Pakistan side was extremely strong, New Zealand were able to hold onto the advantage on home soil.
Pakistan maintained impressive performance levels at home, remaining almost unchallenged. In 1984 and 1988, New Zealand made visits to Pakistan and struggled against superb Pakistani bowlers such as Abdul Qadir, whose phenomenal leg-spin bowling gave the Kiwi batting order nightmares. The 1988 series was a special one as it demonstrated Pakistan’s mixture of pace and spin in their bowling, paving the way for similar setups in future home series.
The two sides faced each other multiple times in One Day International cricket as the game began rising in popularity during this decade. Although Pakistan had plenty of flair in their batting and the depth of their bowling could create an advantage, New Zealand was able to generate the occasional upset due to their disciplined teams.
PAK-VS-NZ In the 1990s: World Cup and Classic Matches
The 1990s brought a new dimension to the PAK-NZ rivalry, with both countries facing each other during major tournaments, including the 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup, as well as other major tournaments that were developing at this time. The 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup was pivotal to New Zealand’s World Cup campaign as they hosted and performed at an extremely high level under Martin Crowe (Captain), leading them to a 100% win rate before playing Pakistan in the semi-final.
The semi-final between Pakistan and New Zealand has become one of the most memorable matches in World Cup History, with Pakistan’s hopes being buoyed by young star Inzamam-ul-Haq and Pakistan’s inspiring leadership from Imran Khan. Ultimately, the upset occurred when Pakistan knocked out the tournament favourites and advanced to the finals of the tournament, ultimately winning it. The semi-final match continues to be a watershed moment in the evolution of the PAK-NZ rivalry.
During the 90s, the Series continued to be played between the two sides, with Pakistan generally having the advantage at home. New Zealand had a much harder time on tours to Pakistan, but were extremely competitive when hosting matches. The bowling unit of Pakistan became one of the strongest in the world with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq leading the attack. New Zealand, on the other hand, produced some very competitive players such as Chris Cairns, Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle.
The two teams continued to compete against each other in the 1996 and 1999 World Cups when they faced each other in the group stages. Pakistan has traditionally been the more successful of the two countries. They have compiled important wins during these tournaments and advanced to the latter stages more often than New Zealand.
2000s – The Decade of Up and Down
The 2000s was a roller-coaster ride for both teams as their performances seemed to change from tournament to tournament. Pakistan still had players such as Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and later on Shahid Afridi, while New Zealand had Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond and Brendon McCullum with them.
In 2001, Pakistan toured New Zealand for an ODI series that was filled with some very close finishes. Shoaib Akhtar’s pace and aggression was too much for the New Zealand batting order in some instances. The Test matches of the early 2000s often ended with a draw due to either rain interruptions or the ultra-cautious approach from both sides. In this period of the two teams began to break away and find their identities.
2009 saw Pakistan make a memorable three-Test series return to New Zealand, with the young Kiwi bowling attack led by Tim Southee and Iain O’Brien pushing the Pakistani lineup to their limits competitively. Whereas Pakistan’s experience of a seasoned batting line-up was able to answer the pressure by winning the series, certifying itself as a stronghold team in the red-ball format of cricket.
In limited-overs cricket, Pakistan and New Zealand continually crossed paths within various ICC tournaments, with Pakistan having the flair and unpredictability to beat New Zealand during the late stages of their matches.
Pak vs NZ in the 2010s
The second half of the 2010s saw T20 cricket explode and become a vital part of the cricketing landscape and with it came the added intensity of the NZ-Pakistan rivalry. Being a stronghold in T20 cricket, Pakistan consistently beat New Zealand in T20 series over the first half of the 2010s, making use of a combination of aggressive batting and spin bowlers.
However, as the 2010s continued to play out, New Zealand began to turn the tide in their favour and became a dominant force in world cricket under the influence of Brendon McCullum and then Kane Williamson, transforming the Kiwi team into one of the most consistently performing teams in world cricket. A large part of this transformation was due to NZ’s fitness levels, improved planning and their ability to adapt their game for multiple formats.
New Zealand dominated Pakistan in their group stage match at the 2011 World Cup. In the 2015 World Cup, the two teams played again but did not compete against each other in high-stakes matches. Early in the decade, Pakistan dominated New Zealand in Test cricket, but by the latter half of the period, New Zealand won many significant Tests against Pakistan.
One of the highlights of the decade was the Test series played between Pakistan and New Zealand in the UAE in 2018. Pakistan had many batting failures; New Zealand demonstrated tremendous cricket, especially by Yasir Shah achieving a record in the series.
Balance and Modern Rivalry of Pakistan and New Zealand in the New Decade
Pakistan and New Zealand have reached a more even playing field over the course of the new decade. One of the best bowling attacks in the world is New Zealand’s four-man crew made up of Boult, Southee, Wagner, and Santner. Pakistan has reinvigorated itself through the development of a younger generation of cricket players, such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Rizwan, and Naseem Shah.
During the pandemic period, Pakistan toured New Zealand, with New Zealand using its world-class pace attack and Kane Williamson’s ability to score runs to dominate that series.
While the New Zealand-Pakistan cricket rivalry features many prominent players and thrilling performances, it has been characterized by extreme disparity; however, Pakistan has managed to defeat New Zealand several times in T20 cricket (including numerous T20 series victories), which adds another exciting layer to an already storied rivalry, especially with Pakistan’s nail-biting win over New Zealand in the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup held in Australia in the year 2022.
In that match, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan put together an amazing opening partnership and secured Pakistan’s place in the final; this semifinal of the T20 World Cup is just one of many memorable moments from this historic rivalry.
In addition to exciting matches, each team has been able to identify new players (young and old) through the matches played between the two countries during recent bilateral series held between them.
Final Thoughts
In summary, the history of the New Zealand-Pakistan cricket rivalry demonstrates how much the game of international cricket has evolved throughout the years. The rivalry began with one-sided matches, evolved into multi-format duels between two teams that were strong at various points in time, and ultimately became one of the most unpredictable contests currently being played in international cricket.
It is the contrasting playing styles (both on and off the field), unique circumstances surrounding each team’s performances, individual players who have performed exceptionally in their respective careers, and the tremendous amount of pressure each team has put on the other during tournament play that have contributed to the evolution of both teams and this rivalry over the course of their seventy years of cricketing history.
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