New Zealand was one of the two teams that featured in the first official T20 international game played at the Eden Park in Auckland. They faced Australia on February 17, 2005, in the first ever T20I game. Thus, the Black Caps are one of the oldest teams to play in the shorter format of the game. Though New Zealand hasn’t won the T20 World Cup until now.
But they have been to the semi-finals four times, including an appearance in the final in 2021. But they lost to Australia in the final. New Zealand has always done well in big matches across all formats. But in T20Is, they have some really good history. New Zealand claimed the No. 1 ranking in T20Is for the first time on May 4, 2016. They are among the top-ranked teams in this format now.
New Zealand’s record in T20 internationals (Team Records)
- The Black Caps hold the record for most tied games in the shorter format. They have been involved in a total of 10 tied games in their history.
- New Zealand is the only team in the shorter format to have hit 18 sixes in a T20I inning three times.
- The Kiwi all-rounder Daryl Mitchell holds the record for the joint-most catches in an inning as a substitute. He took three catches as a substitute in a game against Pakistan in December 2020.
- New Zealand’s Martin Guptill holds the record for the second-most catches in T20 internationals. He has taken 68 catches in his career in 122 games.
- The pair of Devon Conway and Glenn Philips hold the record for the highest third-wicket partnership of 184 runs, which came against the West Indies in November 2020.
- Mark Chapman and James Neesham hold the record for the highest 5th wicket stand of 121* runs against Pakistan in April 2023.
New Zealand’s record in T20 internationals (Team Records)
- Brendon McCullum holds the record for the highest individual score in the T20 World Cup. He scored 123 runs against Bangladesh in the 2012 World Cup.
- McCullum also holds the record for second-most runs from boundaries in a T20 World Cup inning. During his 123-run knock against Bangladesh, he scored 86 runs from 11 fours and 7 sixes.
- The pair of Tim Seifert (6641) and Ross Taylor (nb466) hold the record for scoring the third most runs in a single over in T20Is. They smashed India’s Shivam Dube for 34 runs in February 2020.
- McCullum’s 123-run inning is the most runs scored by a wicketkeeper in a T20I inning. He scored 123 off 72 against Bangladesh in the 2012 World Cup.
- Colin Munro holds the record for the second-fastest T20I fifty off just 14 balls (test-playing nations). He smashed it against Sri Lanka in January 2016.
- Martin Guptill holds the record for the second-most sixes in the shorter format after Rohit Sharma (182). Guptill has scored 173 sixes in 118 innings.
- Devon Conway is the joint-second-fastest batter to complete 1000 T20I runs in just 26 innings.
- Daniel Vettori retired with the best economy rate in his T20I career (test playing nations). He took 38 wickets in 34 innings at an economy of 5.70.
- Ish Sodhi is the third-fastest to take 100 T20I wickets and completed this landmark in just 78 games.
New Zealand’s T20I Records vs other Teams
The Black Caps have played close to 200 T20Is so far in their cricket history. They had a pretty decent record, with wins in more than half of these games and a good winning percentage of over 54. So let’s check out the track record of New Zealand against all test-playing nations until now.
| Opponent | Mts | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
| Afghanistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Australia | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 34.37 |
| Bangladesh | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82.35 |
| England | 23 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 38.63 |
| India | 25 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 46.00 |
| Ireland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Pakistan | 31 | 11 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 35.48 |
| South Africa | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 26.66 |
| Sri Lanka | 23 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 63.63 |
| West Indies | 19 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 67.64 |
| Zimbabwe | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |