5 Indian batsmen who have tormented New Zealand

India and New Zealand have been playing each other since 1955. The latter were one of the few teams against which the Indian team could hold their own, at a time when they generally struggled against the 'bigger' teams.

Over the course of the past 60 odd years, the two teams have played plenty of games across the three formats of the game and naturally, some batsmen have performed particularly well against New Zealand.

Some batsmen have a special liking for a particular bowling and throughout the course of their career, they always seem to get runs against them. Maybe, they might not score centuries all the time but they get a good start most of the time and that's what makes them so dangerous.

Among Indian batsmen, there have been plenty of big scorers against New Zealand but here is a look at 5 who always got runs against the Kiwis.

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#5 Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin

Former Indian captain and one of the nation's finest ever batsmen, Mohammad Azharuddin, scored heavily against New Zealand in a period of around 14 years, between 1985 and 1999. During the course of his distinguished career, Azhar scored 2 Test centuries, 1 ODI century and 10 half centuries across both formats against the Kiwis. In fact, his momentous 62 ball century against New Zealand at Baroda back in 1988 stood as the record for the fastest century in one-day internationals for eight years.

In Test matches, he stroked a superb 192 against the Kiwi attack in Auckland in 1990. Overall he averaged, 43.50 across the two formats and Azhar was one batsman that the Kiwis must have wanted to see the back of whenever he took guard against them

#4 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli in an ODI v New Zealand

Current Indian captain Virat Kohli might not have played against New Zealand as many times as the others on this list but as far as his record against them is concerned, it is a safe prediction that he will end up having an envious record against the Black Caps. In 11 innings in 9 matches, stretched across three formats of the game, Kohli averages 65.22 against New Zealand and has an equally impressive strike rate of 81.22.

He scored a century against them in his very first game back in 2014, when India toured New Zealand and has continued in the same vein. Till date, Kohli has scored 2 centuries (1 in tests, another in ODIs) and 3 half-centuries against New Zealand but one can safely assume that he is going to plunder more runs against them during the course of his career ahead.

#3 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag

The former Indian great played 47 innings in 38 games across formats against New Zealand over the course of around 11 years and his numbers during that period reflect total domination of a bowling attack. The New Zealand teams which were on the receiving end of his famous onslaughts must have been sick of the sight of him, considering the fact that he averaged 47.33 against them and scored at a strike rate of 96.38 across all formats of the game.

In total he scored 8 centuries against them, 6 of them being in one-day internationals and helped himself to 6 half-centuries as well. One of his most memorable innings was perhaps the 69 ball 100 he scored against them in Colombo, back in 2001 to drag India to the final of the tri-nation series.

#2 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar in action against New Zealand

India's greatest ever batsman might have scored a golden duck in his very first game against New Zealand in a Test match in Christchurch back in 1990, but for the rest of his career, he made it a point to score heavily against this particular opposition. He played 66 matches against them and had a combined average across those Tests and one-day internationals of 46.45.

In total, he scored 9 centuries, 5 of which were scored in one-day internationals while the rest were in Test matches. He also scored 16 half centuries against them. His fondness for their attack was evident when Tendulkar scored his much-awaited maiden Test match double century (217) against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 1999.

In the same year, he scored a memorable 186 not out against them in a one day international that remained his highest ODI score for many years. He was one batsman who really tormented New Zealand teams for more than two decades.

#1 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid about to pull one

The greatest Indian run scorer against New Zealand is Rahul Dravid, who literally feasted on their attack for most of his career and maintained an average 52.76 across formats (Tests and ODIs) over a span of 13 years. Dravid's career as a batsman really kick-started after the tour of New Zealand in 1999, when he scored two Test centuries and an ODI century.

During the course of his career, he went on to score four more Test centuries and one more ODI century, in addition to 11 half centuries that made him one of the most prolific Indian batsmen against the Kiwis. His highest score against New Zealand in Tests is 222, while the highest ODI score is 153.

However, Dravid made sure that he tormented the Kiwis till the end and in what proved to be his last innings against them, he scored 191 in the Nagpur Test in 2010.