New Zealand National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Timeline: Complete Match History, Stats & Records (2015–2026)

The New Zealand National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team timeline spans from 2015 to 2026 across ODIs, T20Is, and one abandoned Test. New Zealand lead the head-to-head record 5–1 in all completed international matches. Afghanistan’s only win came in the T20 World Cup 2024 in Guyana– an 84-run demolition where New Zealand were bowled out for just 75. New Zealand responded with their highest-ever T20 World Cup successful chase of 183 in Chennai during the 2026 edition. One Test between the nations was abandoned without a single ball bowled in September 2024.

Head-to-Head Record at a Glance

The overall NZ vs AFG head-to-head record tells a story of New Zealand dominance in ODIs and a competitive split in T20 internationals.

Format	Matches	NZ Won	AFG Won	No Result
ODIs	3	3	0	0
T20Is	4	2	1	1
Tests	1	—	—	Abandoned
Total	8	5	1	2

New Zealand have never lost an ODI against Afghanistan– winning all three meetings by comfortable margins. In T20Is, however, Afghanistan held a win that permanently changed the rivalry’s dynamic.

Read More: Bangladesh National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Timeline: Complete Head-to-Head History (2014–2026)

Complete NZ vs AFG Match Timeline by Tournament

A full breakdown of every match in the New Zealand vs Afghanistan cricket timeline across all formats and ICC tournaments.

Tournament	Date	Venue	Winner	Margin
Bilateral ODI	Mar 8, 2015	Napier	New Zealand	6 wkts
ICC World Cup 2019	Jun 8, 2019	Taunton	New Zealand	7 wkts
T20 World Cup 2021	Nov 7, 2021	Abu Dhabi	New Zealand	8 wkts
T20 World Cup 2022	Oct 26, 2022	Melbourne	No Result	Abandoned
ICC World Cup 2023	Oct 18, 2023	Chennai	New Zealand	149 runs
T20 World Cup 2024	Jun 7, 2024	Guyana	Afghanistan	84 runs
Bilateral Test 2024	Sep 9–13, 2024	Greater Noida	No Result	Abandoned
T20 World Cup 2026	Feb 8, 2026	Chennai	New Zealand	5 wkts

Key Records in the NZ vs AFG Rivalry

Before diving into each match, here are the most important New Zealand vs Afghanistan cricket records you need to know.

Team Records

Category	Record	Match	Venue
Highest AFG total	182/6 (20 ov)	T20 WC 2026	Chennai
Highest NZ total	288/6 (50 ov)	ODI WC 2023	Chennai
Lowest team total	75 all out- NZ (15.2 ov)	T20 WC 2024	Guyana
Highest successful T20 WC chase	183/5- NZ (17.5 ov)	T20 WC 2026	Chennai
Largest win by runs	NZ by 149 runs	ODI WC 2023	Chennai
Largest win by wickets	NZ by 8 wkts	T20 WC 2021	Abu Dhabi

Top Run Scorers- T20Is

Player	Team	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Rahmanullah Gurbaz	AFG	80	56	5	5	142.86
Tim Seifert	NZ	65	42	7	3	154.76
Gulbadin Naib	AFG	63	35	3	4	180.00
Glenn Phillips	NZ	42	25	7	1	168.00
Ibrahim Zadran	AFG	44	41	3	2	107.32
Sediqullah Atal	AFG	29	24	2	0	120.83

Top Wicket Takers- T20Is

Player	Team	Wickets	Best Figures	Economy
Rashid Khan	AFG	4	4/17	4.25
Fazalhaq Farooqi	AFG	4	4/wkts	—
Mujeeb Ur Rahman	AFG	2	2/31	7.75
Lockie Ferguson	NZ	3	2/28	6.80
Trent Boult	NZ	2	2/22	5.50

Top Wicket Takers- ODIs

Player	Team	Wickets	Best Figures	Matches
Aftab Alam	AFG	7	4/37	2
James Neesham	NZ	5	5/31	1
Trent Boult	NZ	5	3/34	3

The 5 Biggest Moments in the NZ vs AFG Rivalry

These are the five turning points that define the complete New Zealand vs Afghanistan cricket history:

1. Afghanistan’s first-ever win over NZ (June 7, 2024, Guyana)– Rashid Khan‘s 4/17 and Farooqi’s 4 wickets. New Zealand bowled out for 75. Afghanistan’s first win in any format against New Zealand.
2. New Zealand’s record T20 WC chase (Feb 8, 2026, Chennai)– 183 chased in 17.5 overs. NZ’s highest-ever successful T20 World Cup run chase.
3. Rashid Khan 4/17 in Guyana (2024)– Best bowling figures by a captain in T20 World Cup history, surpassing Daniel Vettori’s 4/20 (NZ vs India, 2007).
4. Abandoned Test, Greater Noida (2024)– First-ever scheduled Test between these nations, washed out across five days without a ball bowled.
5. New Zealand’s 149-run ODI demolition, Chennai (2023)– The rivalry’s largest-ever margin of victory.

Match-by-Match Timeline: 2015 to 2026

2015- First-Ever Meeting, Napier (ODI)

New Zealand won by 6 wickets (83 balls remaining).

This was the opening chapter of the New Zealand National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team timeline. Afghanistan were still establishing themselves as a full-member ODI nation. New Zealand’s home conditions- seam movement, pace, and bounce– neutralised Afghanistan’s spin-first bowling attack completely. Martin Guptill anchored the chase with a composed half-century and New Zealand closed the game without pressure. The critical gap at this stage: Afghanistan had no experienced top-order batter capable of building a 200-plus ODI innings against quality pace bowling. That structural weakness would take years, multiple World Cups, and squad evolution to close.

2019- ICC Cricket World Cup, Taunton (ODI)

New Zealand won by 7 wickets (107 balls remaining).

Afghanistan arrived at the 2019 ICC World Cup with their most dangerous bowling attack to date- Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi– a spin trio already feared in conditions that suited wrist-spin and off-spin. Taunton in June did not. On an English seam-friendly surface under overhead conditions, New Zealand’s pace bowlers dismissed Afghanistan cheaply and the chase was completed in fewer than 33 overs. Rashid Khan– who had just become the fastest bowler in history to reach 100 ODI wickets (in 44 matches)- conceded freely on this surface. The result confirmed a clear pattern: Afghanistan’s bowling power in 50-over cricket was heavily conditions-dependent in this period.

2021- T20 World Cup, Abu Dhabi (T20I)

New Zealand won by 8 wickets. AFG: 124/8 (20 ov). NZ: 127/2 (17.5 ov).

The NZ vs AFG T20 World Cup 2021 matchup appeared comfortable on the scorecard. The match was not. Rashid, Mujeeb, and Nabi maintained genuine control through the middle overs. New Zealand’s batters worked hard before finding acceleration in the death. What the 8-wicket margin hides: Afghanistan’s opening combination was unsettled- Rahmanullah Gurbaz had not yet become their first-choice T20I opener. Without his destructive power play batting, Afghanistan left 25–30 runs on the Abu Dhabi pitch. That difference would become critical in their next T20I meeting three years later.

2022- T20 World Cup, Melbourne (Abandoned)

Match abandoned without a ball. Both teams received one point.

Rain at the MCG denied both sides a result. Afghanistan were in sharp form during that tournament. This match exists as a footnote- one point apiece and no cricket played- but it makes the next T20I confrontation, in Guyana in 2024, carry even more weight.

October 2023- ICC ODI World Cup, Chennai

NZ 288/6- AFG 139 all out. New Zealand won by 149 runs.

Will Young struck 71 off 80 balls. Devon Conway contributed 52. New Zealand posted 288/6 on a Chennai surface and Afghanistan’s batting order collapsed to 139 all out in 34.4 overs against Trent Boult and Tim Southee’s controlled seam bowling. Rashid Khan conceded just 13 runs in his entire bowling spell– tight, economical, and entirely irrelevant to the outcome. The bowling unit was not the problem. Afghanistan’s top-order batting simply could not absorb 50-over pressure in a chase of 289.

This remains the largest margin of victory in the entire New Zealand vs Afghanistan cricket history.

The Match That Changed Everything: T20 World Cup 2024, Guyana

Afghanistan 159/6 (20 ov)- New Zealand 75 all out (15.2 ov). Afghanistan won by 84 runs.

This is the most consequential match in the New Zealand National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team timeline to date. It demands complete analysis.

How Afghanistan Built 159/6

Rahmanullah Gurbaz opened with 80 off 56 balls– 5 fours and 5 sixes at a strike rate of 142.86. He and Ibrahim Zadran (44 off 41) constructed a 103-run opening partnership, making them the first pair in men’s T20 World Cup history with back-to-back 100-plus opening stands at the same tournament.

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Rahmanullah Gurbaz	80	56	5	5	142.86
Ibrahim Zadran	44	41	3	2	107.32
Azmatullah Omarzai	22	13	1	2	169.23
Total	159/6	20 ov

New Zealand’s Collapse: Ball by Ball

Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed Finn Allen with the very first ball of New Zealand’s innings. The top 4 fell for 22 runs inside the powerplay. Rashid Khan returned 4/17 off 4 overs– the best bowling figures by a captain in T20 World Cup history, surpassing Daniel Vettori’s 4/20 for New Zealand against India in 2007. Farooqi added 4 wickets. Only Glenn Phillips (18) and Matt Henry (12) reached double figures.

Batter	Runs	Dismissal
Finn Allen	0	b Farooqi (ball 1)
Devon Conway	8	b Farooqi
Kane Williamson	9	b Rashid
Glenn Phillips	18	—
Matt Henry	12	b Farooqi
Total	75 all out	15.2 overs

Why Conditions and Tactics Both Mattered

The Providence Stadium surface was slow and low, offering wrist-spin bowlers significant grip through the pitch. New Zealand struggled to rotate strike and time the ball consistently against Afghanistan’s spin combination in the middle overs. The pitch conditions favored Afghanistan’s bowling resources on this day.

Tournament Impact

The defeat ended New Zealand’s 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. The win sent Afghanistan to their first-ever T20 World Cup semi-final. It was, simultaneously, Afghanistan’s first win over New Zealand across all international formats– ODIs, T20Is, and Tests combined.

The Abandoned Test: Greater Noida, September 2024

The first-ever scheduled New Zealand vs Afghanistan Test match was held at Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, Greater Noida, from September 9–13, 2024. Not a single ball was bowled across five days. Persistent heavy rain and a wet outfield made play impossible throughout. It is one of only eight Tests in cricket history to be abandoned without a delivery.

T20 World Cup 2026, Chennai: New Zealand Chase 183

Afghanistan 182/6 (20 ov)- New Zealand 183/5 (17.5 ov). New Zealand won by 5 wickets.

Afghanistan’s Innings: 182/6

Gulbadin Naib’s 63 off 35 balls (SR 180.00) was the match-defining innings. He hit 3 fours and 4 sixes to accelerate Afghanistan past 150 and post a total of 182/6– their highest-ever total against New Zealand.

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Rahmanullah Gurbaz	27	22	2	1	122.73
Ibrahim Zadran	10	12	1	0	83.33
Sediqullah Atal	29	24	2	0	120.83
Gulbadin Naib	63	35	3	4	180.00
Darwish Rasooli	20	13	1	1	153.85
Azmatullah Omarzai	14	7	0	2	200.00
Mohammad Nabi	10*	7	0	1	142.86
Extras	9
Total	182/6	20 ov

Fall of wickets: 35 (Zadran, 5.1), 44 (Gurbaz, 5.6), 123 (Atal, 14.3), 156 (Naib, 17.2), 164 (Rasooli, 18.1), 182 (Omarzai, 19.6).

Afghanistan’s Bowling vs NZ (2026)

Bowler	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Economy
Mujeeb Ur Rahman	4	31	2	7.75
Rashid Khan	4	12	1	3.00
Mohammad Nabi	4	35	1	8.75
Fazalhaq Farooqi	3	37	0	12.33
Gulbadin Naib	2	27	1	13.50

Rashid Khan was highly controlled at 3.00 economy. But New Zealand attacked him earlier in his spell compared to 2024, disrupting his rhythm and preventing the suffocating impact he had in Guyana.

New Zealand’s Chase: 183/5 in 17.5 Overs

New Zealand were 14/2 in 1.4 overs– losing Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra inside the first two overs. What followed was one of the most composed chases in NZ T20I World Cup history.

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Finn Allen	1	2	0	0	50.00
Rachin Ravindra	0	1	0	0	0.00
Tim Seifert (wk)	65	42	7	3	154.76
Glenn Phillips	42	25	7	1	168.00
Mark Chapman	28	17	—	—	—
Daryl Mitchell	25*	—	—	—	—
Mitchell Santner	17*	8	—	—	—
Total	183/5	17.5 ov

Fall of wickets: 14 (Allen, 1.3), 14 (Ravindra, 1.4), 88 (Phillips, 9.2), 124 (Seifert, 12.5), 155 (Chapman, 15.4).

Tim Seifert was named Player of the Match. Seifert and Phillips’ third-wicket stand of 74 runs turned a near-impossible chase into a controlled win. Glenn Phillips (42 off 25, SR 168.00) surpassed Brendon McCullum during this innings to become New Zealand’s third-highest T20I run-scorer of all time with 2,147 runs in 89 innings. This 183-run successful chase is New Zealand’s highest-ever T20 World Cup run chase– surpassing their previous best of 167 against England in 2021.

Player Rivalry Breakdown

Rashid Khan vs New Zealand

Rashid Khan has 5 T20I wickets against New Zealand across both completed matches. His 4/17 in Guyana in 2024 is the best bowling performance by a captain in T20 World Cup history– a record that stands above Daniel Vettori’s 4/20 for New Zealand against India in the inaugural 2007 edition. In Chennai 2026, he returned 1/12 off 4 overs- economical but not decisive, as New Zealand’s more aggressive approach against spin neutralised his threat at key moments.

Fazalhaq Farooqi vs NZ Top Order

Farooqi’s 4-wicket haul in Guyana’s powerplay– starting with Allen on the very first delivery- destroyed New Zealand’s innings structurally before it had begun. He became the first bowler to take back-to-back four-plus wicket hauls at a T20 World Cup (5 vs Uganda, 4 vs New Zealand in 2024). In Chennai 2026, he conceded 37 runs in 3 overs without a wicket- New Zealand’s attacking intent in the powerplay denied him the same control.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz- Top Scorer in NZ vs AFG T20Is

Gurbaz holds the highest individual score in the NZ vs AFG T20I rivalry: 80 off 56 balls (SR 142.86, 5 fours, 5 sixes) in Guyana 2024. His 103-run opening stand with Zadran in that game made them the first T20 WC pair with back-to-back 100-plus opening stands in the same edition. In Chennai 2026, he was dismissed for 27 off 22- positive but without the same dominance on a surface where New Zealand’s seam bowlers responded better.

Glenn Phillips- NZ’s 2026 Match-Winner

Phillips’ 42 off 25 balls when New Zealand were 14/2 was the innings that reset the chase. His 7 fours and 1 six at a strike rate of 168.00 against Afghanistan’s spin attack showed exactly how New Zealand had recalibrated their approach to wrist-spin between 2024 and 2026. This innings simultaneously moved him past McCullum into third place on New Zealand’s all-time T20I run-scorers list.

Venue Performance: Conditions vs Results

One of the most underreported patterns in the New Zealand National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team timeline is how strongly venue and surface conditions correlate with match outcomes.

Conditions	Better Team	Evidence
Slow, spin-gripping T20 surfaces (Guyana, Abu Dhabi)	AFG bowling dominant	Rashid 4/17, Farooqi 4 wkts in 2024
English seam-swing conditions (Taunton)	NZ dominant	7-wkt win, 107 balls remaining
NZ home conditions (Napier)	NZ dominant	6-wkt win, 83 balls remaining
Indian subcontinent ODI surfaces (Chennai)	NZ dominant with bat	149-run win, ODI WC 2023
Indian subcontinent T20 surfaces (Chennai)	Competitive- NZ edge	NZ chased 183 in 17.5 ov, 2026

Afghanistan are most dangerous in T20Is on slow, turning surfaces where their wrist-spin combination- Rashid, Mujeeb, Nabi- can exploit the conditions from both ends. New Zealand are dominant in ODIs and in seam-friendly conditions across formats, where their pace depth and structured batting lineups create natural advantages.

Why the NZ vs AFG Rivalry Matters in World Cricket

The New Zealand vs Afghanistan cricket timeline is not just a record of results- it is a case study in how emerging teams change established rivalries. Afghanistan’s 2024 Guyana win proved that their T20 bowling attack- built around wrist-spin, early-over pace, and aggressive powerplay batting- can dismantle any top-10 team on the right surface. New Zealand’s 2026 Chennai response showed tactical adaptation: attacking spin from ball one instead of playing cautiously through the middle overs. The format split remains the defining feature. New Zealand have won every ODI (3/3). Afghanistan have won the most dramatic T20I (1/3 completed). The rescheduled Test in Doha will introduce an entirely new dimension to this NZ vs AFG cricket rivalry– red-ball conditions that neither team has yet measured against the other.

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