Afghanistan to square off against New Zealand in one-off Test match in Greater Noida
Afghanistan are taking baby steps into the red-ball format. The fixture against New Zealand will be Afghanistan's third Test match in the ongoing calendar year.
Afghanistan are set to play a one-off Test against New Zealand in September at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground. The fixture will be the first between the two sides in the red-ball format. This will be the 10th Test match for Afghanistan since attaining full-member status from ICC in 2017.
As per a report by ESPNcricinfo, the match is likely to be organized from September 9 to 13. The game will serve as a good prep for the Blackcaps before their three-match Test tour of India which is set to get underway on October 16 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Interestingly, New Zealand are also scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for a Test series in between, however, the schedule is yet to be announced for the same.
Moreover, this will be the third Test of this year for Afghanistan having lost to Sri Lanka and Ireland earlier. They defeated New Zealand last month in the T20 World Cup but it will be a huge task for them to go past the BlackCaps in the longest format of the game. Their last win in red-ball cricket came back in March 2021 when they beat Zimbabwe in UAE. Overall, in first nine Tests, Afghanistan have won three and lost six matches so far.
Afghanistan's Test record
| Start date | Team 1 | Team 2 | Result | Venue |
| 14 June, 2018 | Afghanistan | India | Lost by an innings and 262 runs | Bengaluru |
| 15 March, 2019 | Afghanistan | Ireland | Won by seven wickets | Dehradun |
| 5 September 2019 | Afghanistan | Bangladesh | Won by 224 runs | Chattogram |
| 27 November 2019 | Afghanistan | West Indies | Lost by nine wickets | Lucknow |
| 2 March 2021 | Afghanistan | Zimbabwe | Lost by 10 wickets | Abu Dhabi |
| 10 March 2021 | Afghanistan | Zimbabwe | Won by six wickets | Abu Dhabi |
| 14 June 2023 | Afghanistan | Bangladesh | Lost by 546 runs | Mirpur |
| 2 February 2024 | Afghanistan | Sri Lanka | Lost by 10 wickets | Colombo (SSC) |
| 28 February 2024 | Afghanistan | Ireland | Lost by six wickets | Tolerance Oval |
Notably, this one-off Test match will not be part of the World Test Championship with Afghanistan not being part of the same due to their rankings. As the Kiwis face them for the first time, only England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa are the countries to not have played a Test against them.