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Test cricket returned after a bout of the shortest format of the game and an absorbing game was played out between the top two ranked teams in the world. The winners of the inaugural World Test Championship held out against the runner-up with their last two players securing a draw having batted through almost the last nine overs of the match.

Below are some of the statistical highlights from the Kanpur Test.

• Shreyas Iyer became the sixteenth Indian player to score a century in his debut Test. Iyer became the thirteenth Indian cricketer to do so in his debut innings.
• The only other player to perform the feat at Kanpur is Gundappa Viswanath in 1969-70 whilst scoring 0 and 137 against Australia.
• Tim Southee's 5 for 69 is the second-best innings performance by a New Zealand player against India at Kanpur. Daniel Vettori's 6 for 127 in 1999-2000 remains the best.
• The partnership of 151 between Tom Latham and Will Young is New Zealand's second highest against India in India for the first wicket. The 231-run stand between Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent at Mohali in 2003-04 tops the list.
• The New Zealand first innings saw the fourth occasion of both openers falling to a substitute wicket-keeper. The previous occasions were West Indies vs. England at Port-of-Spain in 1953-54; West Indies vs. Pakistan at Kingston in 1976-77 and South Africa vs. Sri Lanka at Cape Town in 2016-17.
• Tom Latham's 401-minute innings of 95 is the third longest by a New Zealand player who has not reached a century. The top two are held by Mark Richardson (82 in 439 minutes vs. Pakistan at Wellington in 2003-04 and 89 in 407 minutes vs. India, also at Wellington, in 2002-03). John Wright's 99 in 400 minutes vs. England at Christchurch was just overtaken by Latham.
• New Zealand's first innings 296 is their lowest-completed total after an opening stand of 150 or more. Their previous lowest was 384 against England at Trent Bridge in 2004.
• The Test saw the second occasion of two New Zealand openers both scoring over 80 but fewer than 100 in the same innings. The other occasion was at Leeds in 1983 when John Wright made 93 and Bruce Edgar 84 against England.
• The New Zealand first innings also saw only the fifth occasion of both openers facing 200 or more balls each in the same innings against India in India. The previous occasions were for England in Bombay in 1976/77; for England at Kanpur in 1984/85; for West Indies at Kolkata in 2002/03 and for New Zealand at Mohali in 2003/04.
• Axar Patel became the fourth player to take five or more wickets on five occasions within their first four Tests. Charlie Turner (Australia), Tom Richardson (England) and Rodney Hogg (Australia) are the others.
• Kyle Jamieson took his 50th wicket in his ninth Test, a record by a New Zealand bowler. Shane Bond was the previous quickest, reaching the target in his 12th Test. Jamieson is the twentieth cricketer to reach this milestone in nine Tests or fewer. Charlie Turner (Australia) holds the record by achieving the number in six Tests.
• Iyer's 170 runs in his debut Test is the third highest by an Indian player behind only Shikhar Dhawan (187) and Rohit Sharma (177), both of whom batted in one innings only. Iyer's runs total is joint 27th highest by any international player.
• Iyer is the first Indian player to score a hundred in one innings and fifty in the other of a debut Test. He is the sixteenth international player to perform the feat.
• Iyer is the third Indian player to top score in both innings of a debut Test. In India's second Test (vs. England at Bombay Gymkhana in 1933-34), Lala Amarnath performed the feat whilst in their very next Test (vs. England at Calcutta in 1933-34), Dilawar Hussain also managed the same.
• Latham became the third New Zealand player to score half-centuries in both innings of a Test in India. Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan had done so in the Ahmedabad Test of 2003-04.
• Latham's vigil of batting for 619 minutes in the match is the longest by a New Zealand player in India, overtaking the 558 minutes batted by Brendon McCullum at Hyderabad in 2010-11. Latham's effort is the fourth longest by a New Zealand player against India, McCullum batting for 818 minutes at Wellington in 2013-14; John Wright 678 at Auckland in 1980-81 and Andrew Jones 665, also at Auckland, in 1989-90. In the pantheon of long batting, Latham's marathon is actually only joint-26th (with himself, against Sri Lanka at Christchurch in 2018-19) highest.
• In terms of balls faced in a Test, Latham's 428 shows a similar pattern to minutes batted above. This figure is the most by a New Zealand player against India in India and fourth most against India after Wright (628 at Auckland in 1980-81; McCullum (578 at Wellington in 2013-14) and Jones (472 at Auckland in 1989-90).
• The New Zealand second innings saw the 30th instance of six or more players falling lbw. There have been two occasions of seven: New Zealand vs. Australia at Christchurch in 2004-05 and Zimbabwe vs. England at Chester-le-Street in 2003. The same number of New Zealand players fell lbw in 2016-17 against India, also at Kanpur.
• William Somerville's second innings 36 is the highest score by a New Zealand nightwatchman against India. It is the second-longest such innings behind Bryan Yuile's 128-minute 21 at Calcutta in 1964-65 but, as a record for number of balls faced for this Test does not exist, it is not possible to say whether Yuile faced more than the 125 balls batted by Somerville. The highest score by a New Zealand nightwatchman is 47 by Eric Dempster at Ellis Park, Johannesburg in 1953-54. Somerville's innings is the third highest against all countries by a New Zealand nightwatchman.
• Tim Southee became the second New Zealand player to take fifty wickets (in his tenth Test) against India. Sir Richard Hadlee (65 in 14 Tests) heads the list.
• The twelve players dismissed bowled in the Test is the third most between India and New Zealand. The record is 15 (at Calcutta in 1995-56) with the second 14 (at Delhi in 1964-65).
• The eleven dismissals lbw in the Test is the joint second most in Tests between India and New Zealand, the other being also at Kanpur in 2016-17. The highest (15) took place at Kolkata, also in 2016-17.
• Although the same has happened on 36 previous occasions, the Kanpur Test saw the first occasion in India vs. New Zealand Tests that the same player from both sides top scored in both of his side's innings.