3 Indian batsmen with the most ODI runs against New Zealand
Team India will take on New Zealand in their first overseas ODI series of 2020. The short three-match series will start on February 5th and end on the 11th of February. India have been on a roll in ODI cricket, winning their last two ODI series against Australia and West Indies at home.
Even though the scoreline of the ongoing T20 series might show that New Zealand have been demolished, if the two Super Over encounters had gone the hosts' way, the fate of the series would have been different.
Indian batsmen have played some riveting knocks against the Kiwis in ODIs over the years. Sachin Tendulkar’s magical 163* at Christchurch will be remembered with a sense of fondness by all those who watched him on that day.
Virender Sehwag blasted his way to a whirlwind 125 off just 74 balls at Hamilton, and Virat Kohli’s 154* against the Kiwis at Mohali will be etched in the fans’ memories for the control that he exhibited.
In this article, let us look at three Indian batsmen with the most ODI runs against New Zealand.
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#3 Virender Sehwag
At the third place comes the swashbuckling former opener Virender Sehwag. The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ is considered by many as the most destructive opener ever produced by India in limited-overs cricket, and his ODI career strike rate of 104.33 backs that claim.
Sehwag played 23 innings for India against New Zealand in ODIs and scored 1157 runs at an average of 36.06, including six hundreds and three fifties. In fact, Sehwag holds the record for scoring the most number of ODI hundreds for India against the Kiwis.
Record against New Zealand: Innings:23| Runs:1157| Average:52.69| 100’s:6| 50’s:3|
#2 Virat Kohli
31-year-old Virat Kohli is already considered by many as one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time. The Indian skipper holds the record for being the fastest to 10,000 ODI runs and is already second in the list of batsmen with the most ODI hundreds, with 43 tons to his name.
Kohli has played 23 innings for India against New Zealand in the ODIs, scoring 1303 runs at a whopping average of 65.15. He has also scored five hundreds and seven fifties against the Kiwis in ODIs. Kohli scored his first hundred against New Zealand in 2010, when he smashed 105 in Guwahati.
If Kohli can manage to score two hundreds in the upcoming ODI series, he will go past Sehwag to record the most number of hundreds by an Indian against New Zealand in ODIs.
Record against New Zealand: Innings:23| Runs:1303| Average:65.15| 100’s:5| 50’s:7|
#1 Sachin Tendulkar
Any list of batting records will be incomplete without this man’s name in it. Sachin Tendulkar holds a plethora of batting records in the ODI format of the game, including that for the most runs (18426), most hundreds (49), and the most fifties (96). He is also the only Indian cricketer to feature in six World Cups.
The ‘Little Master’ played 41 innings against New Zealand in his ODI career, and scored 1750 runs at an average of 46.05, including five hundreds and eight fifties. Right from his splendid 186 in Hyderabad in 1999, to his 163* at Christchurch a decade later, Tendulkar has played several mind-blowing knocks against the Blackcaps in ODI cricket.
Even though Kohli might eventually go past many of his long-standing records, Tendulkar will always remain the ‘God of Cricket’ for a vast legion of fans around the world.
Record against New Zealand:Innings:41| Runs:1750| Average:46.05| 100’s:5| 50’s:8|