Virat Kohli loves the longest format. Virat Kohli loves a challenge.

Starting on Friday, the two-match Test series in New Zealand will be Kohli’s next big challenge in the longest format; not least because it is the first major obstacle for India in the ICC World Test Championship and the team’s perfect record will be put to stern test.

Speaking ahead of the opening Test against New Zealand in Wellington on Friday, the 31-year-old was his usual buoyant self: something about playing Test cricket brings out the enthusiasm from Kohli during press conferences.

Kohli, who took over the Test captaincy in late 2014, has no doubts that World Test Championship has added a context to the traditional format making the contests more exciting with points on offer.

“It has made Test cricket more exciting and that’s something we have experienced as a side although we haven’t had too many games away from home. Couple of games in the West Indies and we haven’t had a tour of Australia as a part of Test Championship. This is our first away tour since the start of home season,” said Kohli.

Head-to-head between India & NZ in Tests

Overall in India in NZ
Matches played 58 34 24
India win 21 16 5
NZ win 10 2 8
Draw 26 16 10
Abandoned 1 0 1

New Zealand, of course, has a special place in Indian cricket history. It was there in 1968 that India won a Test series away from home for the first ever time.

India's Test matches in New Zealand

Match Date Winner Margin Ground
Feb 15-20, 1968 India 5 wickets Dunedin
Feb 22-27, 1968 New Zealand 6 wickets Christchurch
Feb 29-Mar 4, 1968 India 8 wickets Wellington
Mar 7-12, 1968 India 272 runs Auckland
Jan 24-28, 1976 India 8 wickets Auckland
Feb 5-10, 1976 drawn Christchurch
Feb 13-17, 1976 New Zealand inns & 33 runs Wellington
Feb 21-25, 1981 New Zealand 62 runs Wellington
Mar 6-11, 1981 drawn Christchurch
Mar 13-18, 1981 drawn Auckland
Feb 2-5, 1990 New Zealand 10 wickets Christchurch
Feb 9-13, 1990 drawn Napier
Feb 22-26, 1990 drawn Auckland
Mar 19-23, 1994 drawn Hamilton
Dec 18-22, 1998 abandoned Dunedin
Dec 26-30, 1998 New Zealand 4 wickets Wellington
Jan 2-6, 1999 drawn Hamilton
Dec 12-14, 2002 New Zealand 10 wickets Wellington
Dec 19-22, 2002 New Zealand 4 wickets Hamilton
Mar 18-21, 2009 India 10 wickets Hamilton
Mar 26-30, 2009 drawn Napier
Apr 3-7, 2009 drawn Wellington
Feb 6-9, 2014 New Zealand 40 runs Auckland
Feb 14-18, 2014 drawn Wellington

Over nine previous visits to New Zealand to play Test cricket, India have won a series twice. It also goes to show that New Zealand vs India is simply not a prolific rivalry in Test cricket because this is the first time the Indians are touring the country since the 2013-’14 season.

India's Test series results in NZ

Series/Tournament Season Winner Margin
India in New Zealand Test Series 1967/68 India 3-1 (4)
India in New Zealand Test Series 1975/76 drawn 1-1 (3)
India in New Zealand Test Series 1980/81 New Zealand 1-0 (3)
India in New Zealand Test Series 1989/90 New Zealand 1-0 (3)
India in New Zealand Test Match 1993/94 drawn 0-0 (1)
India in New Zealand Test Series 1998/99 New Zealand 1-0 (2)
India in New Zealand Test Series 2002/03 New Zealand 2-0 (2)
India in New Zealand Test Series 2008/09 India 1-0 (3)
India in New Zealand Test Series 2013/14 New Zealand 1-0 (2)

Now, let’s look at India’s best batsmen and bowlers during their previous Test tours of New Zealand:

Batting charts

There should be no surprise that Sachin Tendulkar sits at the top of the run-scoring charts for India when it comes to Tests in New Zealand. The Little Master enjoyed an average of close to 50 in the 11 matches he has played, scoring two centuries in the process. Only four Indian batsmen have managed to score more than one Test century in New Zealand and Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane will have the chance to match or better that in this series if they score one or more tons.

Leading run-scorers for India in NZ

Player Span Mat (Inns) Runs HS Ave 50s/100s
SR Tendulkar 1990-2009 11 (18) 842 160 49.52 5 / 2
R Dravid 1998-2009 7 (14) 766 190 63.83 5 / 2
M Azharuddin 1990-1999 6 (8) 521 192 74.42 1 / 2
G Gambhir 2009-2009 3 (6) 445 167 89.00 1 / 2
SM Gavaskar 1976-1981 6 (10) 392 116 43.55 2 / 1
AL Wadekar 1968-1968 4 (8) 328 143 46.85 2 / 1
VVS Laxman 2002-2009 5 (9) 322 124* 40.25 2 / 1
FM Engineer 1968-1968 4 (8) 321 63 40.12 2 / 0
RF Surti 1968-1968 4 (8) 321 99 45.85 2 / 0
DB Vengsarkar 1976-1990 8 (13) 308 61 25.66 2 / 0

As far as a particular series is concerned, Gautam Gambhir’s sensational 2008-’09 series is the best by an Indian batsman in New Zealand by some distance. The left-handed opener thwarted New Zealand bowlers constantly in that series, starring in both the drawn game and the famous win that clinched the series for India.

Most runs scored in a series by an Indian in NZ

Player Inns Runs HS Ave 100 50 Series
G Gambhir 6 445 167 89.00 2 1 2008/09
SR Tendulkar 5 344 160 68.80 1 2 2008/09
AL Wadekar 8 328 143 46.85 1 2 1967/68
FM Engineer 8 321 63 40.12 0 2 1967/68
RF Surti 8 321 99 45.85 0 2 1967/68

Interestingly, in the 24 Test matches India have played in New Zealand, a total of 16 centuries have been scored by the visiting batsmen but only ONE of those came in the first out of four innings in a match: by Mohammad Azharuddin in 1998.

Top 10 individual scores by an Indian in NZ

Player Runs Inns Ground Start Date
M Azharuddin 192 2 Auckland 22 Feb 1990
R Dravid 190 2 Hamilton 2 Jan 1999
G Gambhir 167 3 Wellington 3 Apr 2009
SR Tendulkar 160 2 Hamilton 18 Mar 2009
AL Wadekar 143 2 Wellington 29 Feb 1968
G Gambhir 137 3 Napier 26 Mar 2009
VVS Laxman 124* 3 Napier 26 Mar 2009
S Amarnath 124 2 Auckland 24 Jan 1976
AM Rahane 118 2 Wellington 14 Feb 2014
SM Gavaskar 116 2 Auckland 24 Jan 1976

Bowling charts

Here’s a stat for the the current bowling line-up to emulate: to this date, the inimitable EAS Prasanna (11/140) remains the only Indian bowler to pick up a 10-wicket match-haul in a Test in New Zealand. Zaheer Khan has the record for the most 5-fors by an Indian bowler (four) with Prasanna (three) and Ishant Sharma (two) the only others to bag five in an innings on more than one occasion.

Leading wicket-scorers for India in NZ

Player Span Mat (Inns) Wkts BBI Ave SR 5-WI / 10-WM
EAS Prasanna 1968-1976 7 (12) 35 8/76 19.25 50.1 3 / 1
Z Khan 2002-2014 7 (13) 33 5/29 28.27 50.3 4
I Sharma 2009-2014 5 (9) 23 6/51 30.91 52.2 2
H Singh 1998-2009 6 (11) 21 6/63 24.19 61.0 1
BS Bedi 1968-1976 6 (10) 20 6/127 24.65 76.8 1
N Kapil Dev 1981-1994 7 (11) 15 4/34 42.13 93.5 0
RJ Shastri 1981-1981 3 (5) 15 5/125 18.46 58.8 1
J Srinath 1994-1999 3 (6) 15 5/95 34.66 71.5 1
RG Nadkarni 1968-1968 4 (8) 14 6/43 17.92 79.5 1
BS Chandrasekhar 1976-1976 3 (4) 11 6/94 26.72 65.3 1
A Kumble 1994-1999 3 (6) 11 4/83 40.27 104.4 0

Prasanna’s star turn, with Bishen Singh Bedi playing the support role, was arguably the main reason for India’s historic series triumph in 1968 and it is no surprise to see the two legends on top of the charts for best series performances. Ishant, too, had a memorable outing albeit in a losing cause last time around.

Most wickets in a series by an Indian in NZ

Player Inns Wkts BBI Ave Econ SR 5-fors Series
EAS Prasanna 8 24 6/94 18.79 2.27 49.4 2 1967/68
BS Bedi 8 16 6/127 23.18 2.10 66.0 1 1967/68
Harbhajan Singh 5 16 6/63 21.37 2.31 55.3 1 2008/09
RJ Shastri 5 15 5/125 18.46 1.88 58.8 1 1980/81
I Sharma 4 15 6/51 25.13 3.55 42.4 2 2013/14

Best bowling figures in an innings

Player Figures Econ Inns Ground Start Date
EAS Prasanna 23.0*-5-76-8 2.47 3 Auckland 24 Jan 1976
RG Nadkarni 30.0-12-43-6 1.43 3 Wellington 29 Feb 1968
I Sharma 17.0-3-51-6 3.00 1 Wellington 14 Feb 2014
Harbhajan Singh 28.0-2-63-6 2.25 3 Hamilton 18 Mar 2009
EAS Prasanna 40.0-11-94-6 2.35 3 Dunedin 15 Feb 1968
BS Chandrasekhar 30.0*-6-94-6 2.35 1 Auckland 24 Jan 1976
BS Bedi 47.3-11-127-6 2.67 1 Christchurch 22 Feb 1968
I Sharma 33.4-4-134-6 3.98 1 Auckland 6 Feb 2014
*8-ball overs

Current squad

Among the current squad, Ishant Sharma is the only player to have toured New Zealand more than once for a Test series (2009 and 2014). He was one of India’s better performers during the previous series which the visitors lost 1-0 in 2014. He picked up 15 wickets (including two five-fors) with a best of 6/51 at an average of 25.13 and strike rate of 42.4. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have a century each to their name in New Zealand as well but for the most part, the current squad will start the two-match series with a clean slate, including the likes of senior players Ashwin Ravichandran and Wriddhiman Saha.

India's current squad: record in NZ

Player Matches played Batting record Bowling record
Virat Kohli  2 Inns: 4, Runs: 215, Avg: 71.33 (100s/50s: 1/1) N/A
Cheteshwar Pujara 2 Inns: 4, Runs: 60, Avg: 15.00 (100s/50s: 0/0) N/A
Ajinkya Rahane 2 Inns: 3, Runs: 162, Avg: 54.00 (100s/50s: 1/0) N/A
Ravindra Jadeja 2 Inns: 3, Runs: 82, Avg: 41.00 (100s/50s: 0/0) Inns: 3, Wkts: 3, Avg: 85.66 (5-fors: 0)
Ishant Sharma 5 Inns: 6, Runs: 54, Avg: 9.00 (100s/50s: 0/0) Inns: 9, Wkts: 23, Avg: 30.91 (5-fors: 2)
Mohammed Shami 2 Inns: 3, Runs: 2, Avg: 2.00 (100s/50s: 0/0) Inns: 4, Wkts: 10, Avg: 35.10 (4-fors: 1)
Rest of the squad playing a Test for the first time in New Zealand

On Wednesday, Kohli backed rookie opening batsmen Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw to shine at Wellington’s Basin Reserve, where India have not won a Test since 1968. And he had an interesting explanation for that.

“These guys have no baggage, they’re not desperate in any way to perform here,” he said. “They play with a fearlessness that can motivate the whole team and give us the kind of starts we want.”

Indeed, as noted above, most of this current Indian squad will hardly have any baggage having not played Test cricket in New Zealand before (on the flip side: lack of experience.)

Kohli expected the notorious Wellington wind to play a role in the match, saying it had to be carefully considered when weighing up bowling options.

“Wind in this stadium more than any other in the world plays a massive, massive role,” he said.

Also read: India’s problems with opening batsmen in Tests in ‘SENA’ countries

And for starters, Kohli and India would be desperate for a good start from the openers.

Openers in SENA under Virat Kohli's captaincy

Partners Inns Runs High Ave 50
MA Agarwal, GH Vihari 2 68 40 34.00 0
S Dhawan, KL Rahul 6 168 60 28.00 2
S Dhawan, M Vijay 6 161 50 26.83 1
PA Patel, M Vijay 1 17 17 17.00 0
KL Rahul, M Vijay 11 166 63 15.09 1
MA Agarwal, KL Rahul 1 10 10 10.00 0