Biggest Test win for New Zealand: List of New Zealand biggest wins in Test cricket

Dixit Bhargav | 19/02/2022
Biggest Test win for New Zealand: List of New Zealand biggest wins in Test cricket

Biggest Test win for New Zealand: New Zealand are on the brink of registering a record-breaking victory at the Hagley Oval.

Despite a dismal head-to-head record including their last victory coming almost a couple of decades ago, all it took for New Zealand to gain an early advantage in the ongoing two-match Test series against South Africa was a session.

Since then, New Zealand have ticked all the possible boxes to be in a position from where a record-breaking victory doesn’t seem very distant.

The start of the third day requires New Zealand to pick seven wickets to wrap-up the match at the Hagley Oval. With South Africa trailing by as many as 353 runs, saving this match with three more days remaining doubtlessly requires a miraculous effort.

In such a situation, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that this match could enter the record books especially if New Zealand continue their domination on Saturday.

Biggest Test win for New Zealand (updated list)

To achieve a personal best Test victory, New Zealand will have to bowl out the Proteas as early as possible on Day 4. It is noteworthy that New Zealand’s biggest-ever Test victory (if it happens tomorrow) might also be their the biggest-ever Test victory at home.

Christchurch, which hosted Pakistan last year, had witnessed its biggest Test victory (innings and 176 runs) getting registered. However, a thumping victory on Day 3 has increased the biggest victory margin at this venue by 100 runs.

As far as the biggest Test wins in New Zealand concerned, West Indies had defeated New Zealand by an innings and 322 runs in 1995. The only other instance of a team winning by an innings and 300+ runs in New Zealand was when the hosts had defeated Zimbabwe in Napier in 2002.

In terms of runs, New Zealand had defeated Sri Lanka by 423 runs in 2018 but had lost against Pakistan by 299 runs in Auckland in 2001.

                                                 By Innings
Margin Opposition Ground Year
Innings & 301 runs Zimbabwe Napier 2012
Innings & 295 runs Zimbabwe Harare 2005
Innings & 276 runs South Africa Christchurch 2022
Innings & 185 runs Pakistan Hamilton 2001
Innings & 176 runs Pakistan Christchurch 2021
                                                  By Runs
Margin Opposition Ground Year
423 Sri Lanka Christchurch 2018
254 Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2016
240 West Indies Hamilton 2017
204 West Indies Bridgetown 2002
199 England Leeds 2015
Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.