South Africa will take on New Zealand in match number 32 of the 2023 World Cup at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Wednesday. This will be the seventh match for both teams in the tournament. While the Proteas are in second position in the points table with 10 points, the Kiwis are third with eight points.
South Africa began their 2023 World Cup journey in record-breaking fashion, smashing 428/5 against Sri Lanka in Delhi – the highest-ever total in the men’s ODI World Cup. They went on to beat Australia by 134 runs before suffering a shock 38-run defeat at the hands of the Netherlands.
The Proteas have been unbeaten in their last three matches, though, hammering England by 229 runs and Bangladesh by 149 runs before sneaking home by one wicket against Pakistan.
New Zealand, meanwhile, got off to a sensational start in the World Cup, winning their first four matches in a row. They hammered England by nine wickets, the Netherlands by 99 runs, Bangladesh by eight wickets, and Afghanistan by 149 runs.
In their last two games, though, the Kiwis have gone down to India and Australia by four wickets and five runs, respectively.
New Zealand’s dominance over South Africa in the Men’s ODI World Cup
While South Africa enjoy a significant 41-25 lead over New Zealand in the head-to-head battle in the ODIs, the story is completely different when it comes to the ODI World Cup. The Kiwis have won six out of the eight matches played between the two teams in the ICC tournament. In fact, New Zealand have beaten South Africa in every ODI World Cup encounter between the two teams, starting in 2003.
South Africa’s last win over New Zealand in the ODI World Cup came way back during the 1999 edition. The Proteas registered a 74-run win in Birmingham. Jacques Kallis starred with 53* and 2/15 as South Africa posted 287/5 batting first before restricting the opponents to 213/8.
The Kiwis beat the Proteas by nine wickets [DLS method] in a league match in Johannesburg during the 2003 edition. In 2007, New Zealand registered a five-wicket in the Super Eights round in St George’s. New Zealand knocked South Africa out of the 2011 World Cup by registering a 49-run win in the third quarter-final in Mirpur.
The Kiwis caused the Proteas another heartbreak winning the 2015 semi-final in Auckland by four wickets as Grant Elliott hit a famous six off the penultimate ball of the match.
During the previous ODI World Cup in 2019, Kane Williamson scored an unbeaten hundred in Birmingham as New Zealand chased 242 with four wickets in hand in a league fixture.
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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert