Cricket: When will the Black Caps next win?

If the Black Caps can beat India in tomorrow's second test at Bangalore it will be the first time in 24-years that the Kiwis have triumphed on Indian soil. Photo / Getty Images.

If the Black Caps can beat India in tomorrow's second test at Bangalore it will be the first time in 24-years that the Kiwis have triumphed on Indian soil.

But if the match plays to form and India make a clean sweep of the test series it will lead to some soul searching from the Black Caps as they face the inevitable question; where is the next win coming from?

The Black Caps sit in eighth place out of the nine teams in the ICC test rankings, have not won a match in their last six tests, and will be fighting against long odds to score a test win in the next 14 months.

After the Indian tour the Black Caps travel to Sri Lanka, before butting heads with the two top test sides in the world, South Africa (away) and England (home and away), in a different set of challenges to which they currently face on the sub-continent.

Their only respite may come in October of 2013 on the tour of Bangladesh - who sit below the Kiwis on the ICC rankings - who have not beaten the Black Caps in nine meetings.

The Black Caps have not beaten India since 2002 (by four wickets in Hamilton), and face a tall order tomorrow against a side that demolished them by an innings and 15 runs in the first test.

In October the Black Caps will play two tests in Sri Lanka - where they haven't managed a win since 1998.

Then they have unenviable task of trying to roll the top test nation in the world, South Africa, in their backyard. New Zealand has only ever won three tests in South Africa, and has had no success since 1994.

Since then the Black Caps have lost eight of the last 10 tests in South Africa, including a 2-0 defeat in our last visit in 2007.

Should they come away empty handed from that tour, the second ranked English will be the next stepping stone to a win. England have only lost one of their last six tests - to world number one South Africa - and we have only won one of our last nine encounters with the Brits.

The Kiwis will be hoping that troubled star batsmen Jesse Ryder will have returned to the squad by then, and that the English will still be reeling from losing captain Andrew Strauss and possibly batsmen Kevin Pietersen.

It will be with some relief that New Zealand meets Bangladesh in October 2013, where a win will be expected and demanded.

The stats are harsh, belittling almost, and put a negative spin on the Black Caps' campaign and effort, but they also can't be ignored. New Zealand cricket is currently swimming in choppy water, but unfortunately all signs point to a storm on the way.

- HERALD ONLINE