New Zealand made their debut in the game of cricket way back in 1932, when they locked horns with England. This team is also famously known as the “Black Caps and Kiwis.” Over the years, New Zealand has found success all over the world. They were also the first team to win the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship in 2021.
This team is one of the few that has registered a win margin of more than 400 runs in test cricket. New Zealand has always been a tough team to defeat, whether they are playing at home or away. So we will check the details for all the biggest wins for New Zealand in test cricket.
New Zealand Highest Win Margin in Test Cricket (by Runs)
Margin | Target | Against | Venue | Date |
423 runs | 660 | Sri Lanka | Christchurch | 26 Dec 2018 |
254 runs | 387 | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 6 Aug 2016 |
240 runs | 444 | West Indies | Hamilton | 9 Dec 2017 |
204 runs | 474 | West Indies | Bridgetown | 21 Jun 2002 |
199 runs | 455 | England | Leeds | 29 May 2015 |
193 runs | 390 | Sri Lanka | Wellington | 3 Jan 2015 |
190 runs | 268 | West Indies | Auckland | 9 Mar 1956 |
189 runs | 300 | England | Hamilton | 5 Mar 2008 |
186 runs | 403 | West Indies | Kingston | 8 Jun 2014 |
177 runs | 315 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 7 Nov 1992 |
3. New Zealand (240 runs) vs West Indies in 2017
New Zealand registered their third-highest win margin in test cricket against West Indies in December 2017. It came in the second game of the two-match series in Hamilton. West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first. New Zealand scored 373 runs in the first inning. Jeet Raval was the top scorer with 84 runs. In response, the Caribbean team scored 221 runs in 6.5 overs, and the Kiwis got a first-inning lead of 152 runs.
With a big lead, New Zealand played 77.4 overs in their second inning and declared at 291/8. Ross Taylor scored an unbeaten century and made 107 runs with 11 fours. West Indies received the target of 444 runs. Chasing the target, West Indies got all out for 203 runs in 63.5 overs. As a result, New Zealand registered a win by 240 runs.
2. New Zealand (254 runs) vs Zimbabwe in 2016
The second-biggest win for the Black Caps came in August 2016 in an away game. New Zealand toured Zimbabwe for two tests. It came in the second test in Bulawayo. After winning the toss, the Black Caps chose to bat first. They declared their first inning at 582/4 in 150 overs, with three batters scoring a century each. Tom Latham (136), Kane Williamson (113), and Ross Taylor (124*) were the centurion for the visitors.
In reply, Zimbabwe also tried hard and made 362 runs, but they conceded a lead of 220 runs. New Zealand batted again, making 166/2 in 36 overs, and declared the inning. They gave the hosts a big target of 387 runs. Zimbabwe suffered a 132-run all out in the second inning in just 68.4 overs. With that, New Zealand registered a win by 254 runs.
1. New Zealand (423 runs) vs Sri Lanka in 2018
New Zealand’s biggest win in their cricket history came in December 2018. It is one of the biggest wins in the last decade or so. This came against Sri Lanka in Christchurch. It was the last of the two-match series. After winning the toss, Sri Lanka chose to bowl first. They did an excellent job and dismissed New Zealand for just 178 runs in 50 overs. But the Kiwi bowlers performed even better.
They dismissed Sri Lanka for just 104 runs in 41 overs. Trent Boult picked up 6/30 for them. New Zealand got a first-inning lead of 74 runs and batted again. They did a splendid job with the bat and scored 585/4 and declared their inning in 153 overs. Tom Latham (176) and Henry Nicholls (162*) scored big hundreds. Sri Lanka got a target of 660 runs and got all out for 236 runs. New Zealand registered their biggest win by 423 runs.