The cricketing rivalry between Pakistan vs New Zealand spans over six decades, which makes for a great study in contrasting playing styles and conditions. Since their first encounter in 1955, these two nations have produced memorable cricket across formats, with each team showing distinct advantages in different conditions. Their head-to-head record reveals a compelling story of competitive cricket, shifting dominance, and evolving strategies. Pakistan vs New Zealand Head to Head - Test Cricket Team Matches Won Lost Draw Win % Pakistan 62 25 14 23 40.32 New Zealand 62 14 25 23 22.58 In Test cricket, the longest and most traditional format, Pakistan has a strong upper hand over New Zealand. From 1955 to 2023, the two teams played 62 Test matches, in which Pakistan won 25 and New Zealand secured 14 victories, while 23 matches ended in draws. Pakistan's win percentage of 40.32% compared to New Zealand's 22.58% reflects their historical dominance in this format. Image Source : Getty Images Success rates tell a story by themselves, more so in terms of conditions. Pakistan's handling of spin and its mastery of it have won it the day more than once, particularly at home. The 1.785 win-loss ratio speaks volumes in favour of Pakistan against New Zealand's 0.56. This is the extent of the gulf between these two teams in this format. The high number of draws (37.09%) reflects the level of closeness in many games, especially when Test cricket played during the earlier decades involved a more prudent pace. Also Read | England vs Pakistan: Complete Head-to-Head Record in Test, ODI, T20I Pakistan vs New Zealand Head to Head - ODI Team Matches Won Lost Draw Win % Pakistan 116 61 51 0 52.58 New Zealand 116 51 61 0 43.96 The One Day International format provides a more competitive outlook between these two cricketing nations. Pakistan vs New Zealand have played each other in 116 matches since their first ODI encounter in 1973. Pakistan leads narrowly with 61 wins to New Zealand's 51, with one tie and three no-results. Image Source : Getty Images The win percentage in ODIs - Pakistan at 52.58% and New Zealand at 43.96% - indicates a more even contest than in Tests. The win-loss ratio (Pakistan's 1.196 vs New Zealand's 0.836) reinforces this viewpoint as well. The more or less fair contest in the latter format can be imputed to New Zealand's gradual adjustment to contemporary limited-overs cricket and also their ability to capitalize on their pace bowling core. The single tied match and three no-results add interesting footnotes to their ODI history, underlining the unpredictable nature of limited-overs cricket. Pakistan vs New Zealand Head to Head - T20I Team Matches Won Lost NR Win % Pakistan 44 23 19 2 52.27 New Zealand 44 19 23 2 43.18 The Twenty20 format, which is cricket's most modern iteration, shows another closely fought battle between these two nations. Since their first T20I meeting in 2007, they have played 44 matches, with Pakistan winning 23 and New Zealand claiming 19 victories, while two matches had no result. Image Source : AFP Pakistan have a slight upper hand in T20Is as they have 52.27% win percentage compared to New Zealand's 43.18%. The win-loss ratio further indicates that there is a minor Pakistani dominance (1.21 for Pakistan vs 0.826 for New Zealand).This format is also interesting because of the way the two teams have adopted modern T20 strategies, as Pakistan's flair and New Zealand's methodical approach create intriguing tactical battles. Pakistan vs New Zealand Head-to-Head Overall Analysis Format Total Matches Pakistan Wins NZ Wins Draw/Tie/NR Pakistan Win % NZ Win % Tests 62 25 14 23 40.32 22.58 ODIs 116 61 51 4 52.58 43.96 T20Is 44 23 19 2 52.27 43.18 Total 222 109 84 29 49.10 37.84 There are many interesting trends when looking at the complete picture across all formats for this historic rivalry. Pakistan, having won 109 times while New Zealand managed 84 wins in 222 matches, proved generally to be a better team, though this isn't uniform by format or period. Image Source : AFP Performance statistics are more a reflection of change in New Zealand cricket. As they have indeed struggled much over the years with Tests, still, the amount of competition advantage they hold on to the format of limited overs is impressive by leaps and bounds. Pakistan's consistency over formats is also impressive as well, for their win percentage was above 40% in each of the formats for the Pakistan vs New Zealand. The contrasting strengths of the teams are well visible through their patterns of performance. Pakistan has frequently won matches on the basis of its strength in winning matches on spin-friendly conditions as well as in pressure situations, and New Zealand remained competitive, mostly in the limited-overs version of cricket, due to systematic approach and excellent performance in pace-friendly conditions. One interesting feature of Pakistan vs New Zealand rivalry is that the matches drawn/tied have been steadily declining in recent times, which would reflect the fact that cricket nowadays is a result-oriented game. Overall statistics tend to indicate that although Pakistan might have enjoyed traditional superiority, in modern times the gap between the two cricketing nations has diminished significantly. Also Read | India vs New Zealand: Complete Head-to-Head Record in Test, ODI, T20I Conclusion Head-to-head comparison across formats has some interesting trends in the rivalry between Pakistan vs New Zealand. Pakistan is more dominant in Test cricket, while the gap becomes significantly smaller in limited-overs cricket. New Zealand's growth as a cricketing nation is seen in their increased competitiveness in ODIs and T20Is. In general statistics, it is a historical fact that Pakistan has been the better side, but New Zealand has consistently made themselves a much more competitive side in white-ball cricket.