New Delhi, March 02: Martin Guptil cemented his place as one of the best ODI players of his generation on Wednesday with a sublime 180 not out as New Zealand beat South Africa.
Guptill’s heroics with the bat are nothing new for the Black Caps since he made his debut in 2009, and the 30-year-old now has the top three scores in one-day internationals for his country
Amazingly his effort in Hamilton was the lowest of the three, his previous innings seeing him reach 189 against England and 237 versus West Indies – showing the importance of getting him out early.
Despite not reaching the heights of an unbeaten 237, Guptill labelled his latest innings as possibly his best for New Zealand – and few could disagree given it came off 138 deliveries, containing 14 fours and 11 maximums.
It keeps Guptill’s impressive run since January 2015 going, he has a better record than any other New Zealand batsman – an superb feat given he has the likes of Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum for company.
In his 52 matches over the past two years the opener has an average of 54.6, a figure only bettered by four of the world’s top batsmen.
AB de Villiers tops that list with an average of 69.4, while David Warner, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli also sit ahead of the ever-improving Guptill.
The 180 runs takes his career total to 5410 in the 50-over format – at an average of 43.98 – and it is on home soil where he comes to the fore the most.
In New Zealand no-one can boast a better record than Guptill, in his 69 innings he averages 50.3, exactly three more than Taylor – his nearest rival.
More records came his way following his display at Seddon Park, including the third-highest individual ODI score in New Zealand, he holds the highest with only Matthew Hayden stopping him occupying the top two spots.
It was also the best individual score by a Kiwi when batting second, and only five behind the world record holder – Shane Watson with 185 against Bangladesh in April 2011.
Meanwhile, against South Africa his stunning display can only be bettered by the great Sachin Tendulkar, the little maestro scoring an unbeaten 200 in Gwalior seven years ago.
