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New Zealand’s men’s cricket team has evolved from underdogs to strong competitors, reaching seven ICC finals, including five since 2015. They will face India in the 2025 Champions Trophy final.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner. (AP)
International cricket in the first quarter of this century has seen a mini plot-line of the New Zealand men’s side developing from perennial underdogs to genuine competitors for trophies. In the last five years, the Black Caps have been clearly putting in efforts to shed the latter tag, too, and transition to consistent winners.
It has been a brilliant journey, but like usual, it has been full of highs and lows. For the Kiwis, the lows have seemed to particularly hurt because of how they come about — nobody else has lost on a ‘boundary count’, a rule that has ceased to exist since that final. But that has also made the highs feel that much sweeter.
Sunday will see them compete against India in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium. It’ll be their seventh ICC final and the fifth since 2015. Below, we have prepared a low-down of format-wise ICC finals that the Kiwis have participated in:
New Zealand in ICC ODI Finals
The Black Caps have played four ODI finals, including two back-to-back in 2015 and 2019 World Cups. They won their first such final in the ICC KnockOut tournament at the start of the century. It was the second edition of the tournament and was renamed to Champions Trophy in 2002. The Kiwis have failed to get their hands on the trophy in the ODI format ever since.
- 15 October 2000 — ICC KnockOut 2000/01 Final — New Zealand beat India by four wickets
- 5 October 2009 — ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Final — New Zealand lost to Australia by six wickets
- 29 Match 2015 — ICC World Cup 2015 Final — New Zealand lost to Australia by seven wickets
- 14 July 2019 — ICC World Cup 2019 Final — New Zealand lost to England on boundary count after a tied match and a tied Super-Over
New Zealand in ICC WTC Final
After hearbreaks in three finals, New Zealand beat heavyweights India in the first-ever World Test Championship final in Southampton in 2021.
- 18 June 2021 — ICC World Test Championship (2019-2021) Final — New Zealand beat India by eight wickets
New Zealand in ICC T20I Finals
New Zealand have also played just one men’s T20 World Cup final. They met Australia at the venue of the 2025 Champions Trophy final, Dubai, and were trounced by a huge margin. It was their third defeat to Australia in an ICC final.
- 14 November 2021 — ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Final — New Zealand lost to Australia by eight wickets
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!
