ODI World Cup 2023: 5 players with most runs in NZ vs SA rivalry

This world cup has been so good so far for South Africa, the way this team has performed is very impressive, Proteas has won 5 games out of six with total dominance. South has also been the victim of an upset in this World Cup, they’ve lost a game against underdog Netherlands.

Despite excellence in every field South Africa has been spotted with a big problem which was chasing. They’ve won four games while batting first and two games where they’ve been asked to chase the target. The pressure has overpowered them. Against Pakistan they won it by just one wicket, they could’ve lost it if the umpire’s call rule wasn’t implemented. New Zealand has also got a good start with consecutive four wins but after that they’ve lost two games which pushed them from first position to third, at a time when New Zealand was looking comfortable to reach semifinals and they’ve to win every game to cement their place in knock outs. NZ vs SA could be a big game for both teams to decide which team will be in second position. 

Both teams have played 71 ODI games where South Africa is leading this race with 41-25 and five of them did not produce any result. In the world cups South Africa has turned the table by 6-2. In this article we’ll see who are the top five successful batters in the history of all 71 games that’ve been played between NZ vs SA. 

Jacques Kallis 

Former South South African all rounder Jacques is leading this scorer board with 1449 runs in 45 games that he has played in between 1996 to 2012. He has scored 3 centuries and 9 half centuries, 111 runs that he smashed in 1998 at WACA is the highest score against Kiwis. Jacques Kallis is one the greatest all rounders in the world. He is the only player in the world with more than 20000 runs and over 500 wickets in international cricket. He is the highest international run scorer for his country. 3

Stephen Fleming

Former New Zealand batter Stephen Fleming has 1280 runs against proteas in 40 games that he has played between 1994 to 2007. He has batted with the average of 35.55 and scored two centuries, best of them was an unbeaten inning of 134 that he made in 2003 at wanderers. Stephen Fleming has over 15000 international runs which is the third highest runs for New Zealand. He was one of the greatest batters of New Zealand and currently he is the head coach of Chennai Super Kings in IPL.

Gary Kirsten

South African former batter who is famous in India for being the coach of team India in 2011. He has scored 1180 runs in 31 games that he has played in between 1993 to 2003. He has batted with an average of 43.70 and scored two centuries. 103 is the best score which came in 1998 at Brisbane. Gary was an excellent cricketer and now he is coaching his National cricket team. He was the coach when team India won the World Cup in 2011. 

Herschelle Gibbs     

South African explosive batter Herschelle Gibbs which is known for his memorable inning against  Australia in2006 while chasing 435. He is the fourth highest scorer in NZ vs SA with 1042 runs in 29 games between 1997 to 2007. He has two centuries against Blackcaps and the highest one was 143 which came in 2003 at wanderers. He has scored over eight thousand runs in ODI which is the fourth highest for South Africa. 

AB de Villiers

South African legendary batter which is also known as 360 degree batter AB de Villiers is the fifth highest scorer in this list. 991 runs in 25 innings with one century(106*) in 2012 at Sky stadium. AB  is one of the most destructive players in the modern era. He has scored century in just 31 balls in ODI cricket which is the fastest century in international cricket. He is the second highest run getter in international cricket for South Africa.

Also read: Mayank Agarwal Reveals Insights Into Indian Cricket Squad Personalities At Men’s ODI World Cup