India are only a victory away from registering their fourth bilateral T20I series victory against New Zealand. In what will be their third consecutive bilateral T20I series victory against the Black Caps, it will be their second such win in New Zealand.
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Hence, the imminent third New Zealand-India T20I to be played in Napier tomorrow will hold immense important for both the teams. Having lost a match to rain and India each, the Kiwis would be desperate of avoiding a series defeat even in the absence of captain Kane Williamson. Assuming that the hosts become successful in doing the same, it will be the first-ever instance of a drawn New Zealand-India T20I series.
Napier Cricket Ground records India
The last match of the series will become India’s first T20I at the McLean Park. India, who have played a total of nine international matches at this venue, have never played a T20I here. Although both New Zealand-India Napier Tests had ended in a draw, India have won two and lost three out of their five ODIs at this stadium over the years.
| S. No. | Opposition | Format | Result | Year |
| 1 | New Zealand | Test | Drawn | 1990 |
| 2 | New Zealand | ODI | New Zealand won by 28 runs | 1994 |
| 3 | New Zealand | ODI | New Zealand won by 4 wickets | 1995 |
| 4 | New Zealand | ODI | India won by 2 wickets | 1999 |
| 5 | New Zealand | ODI | New Zealand won by 35 runs | 2002 |
| 6 | New Zealand | ODI | India won by 53 runs | 2009 |
| 7 | New Zealand | Test | Drawn | 2009 |
| 8 | New Zealand | ODI | New Zealand won by 24 runs | 2014 |
| 9 | New Zealand | ODI | India won by 8 wickets | 2019 |
India’s Top Three batters across formats at this venue are all retired cricketers. Former captain Virat Kohli (168) is their top run-scorer here among active cricketers. No other specialist batter part of the current squad has played any match at the McLean Park in the past.
Unlike batters, active Indian bowlers are among their best bowlers at this stadium. Mohammed Shami (7), Kuldeep Yadav (4), Ishant Sharma (4) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2) have picked more than one international wicket in Napier among active Indian cricketers.
McLean Park Napier T20 results list international matches
| S. No. | Match | Result | Year |
| 1 | New Zealand vs Bangladesh | New Zealand won by 6 wickets | 2017 |
| 2 | New Zealand vs England | England won by 76 runs | 2019 |
| 3 | New Zealand vs Pakistan | Pakistan won by 4 wickets | 2020 |
| 4 | New Zealand vs Bangladesh | New Zealand won by 28 runs | 2021 |
Click here to read more about T20I records at the McLean Park.
