Cricket
Shiva Jayaraman, Senior stats analyst, ESPNcricinfo 5y

South Africa's record-winning streak, Tahir's hat-trick, and Steyn's maiden fifty

ZIM in SA 2018-19, Cricket

3 Number of South Africa bowlers to take a hat-trick in ODIs before Imran Tahir. Charl Langeveldt, JP Duminy and Kagiso Rabada were the previous South Africa bowlers to do it. Langeveldt took his hat-trick against West Indies in 2005. Duminy's feat came against Sri Lanka at the SCG in the 2015 World Cup. Rabada achieved his hat-trick against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Click here for a list of other hat-tricks in ODIs.

28 Successive ODIs won by South Africa against Zimbabwe - the longest winnings streak for a team against any opposition. With their win in Bloemfontein, South Africa have passed Australia's 27-match winnings streak - which ended with Australia's loss in Harare in 2014 - against Zimbabwe. Pakistan had a 25-match winning streak against Zimbabwe from 1998 to 2011 and a similar streak against Bangladesh from 2000 to 2014.

120 South Africa's win margin in this match - the biggest by a team not to manage 200 runs batting first in ODIs. The previous highest margin by such a team was by Sri Lanka against India in 1986: they had won by 117 runs after putting up 195 for 8 in an ODI in Kanpur.

117 Zimbabwe's previous lowest total against South Africa in ODIs, which came in the first ODI of this series, at Kimberley. The 78-run total that they managed in this match is now their lowest against the team and their ninth lowest all-out scores in ODIs and their third sub-100 total in the format this year. They were bowled out for 67 runs by Pakistan in Bulawayo in July this year and could manage only 95 runs in the fifth ODI of a series against Afghanistan in February.

56* The previous-highest score by a South Africa batsmen batting at No. 9 or lower in ODIs. This was by Andrew Hall against India in 2006. Dale Steyn's 60 in this match is now the highest. Steyn is only the fourth South Africa batsman to get a fifty batting at No. 9 or lower in ODIs.

3 Number of batsmen who've taken longer than Steyn to score their first fifty-plus score in ODIs. Steyn was playing the 117th match of his ODI career. Chaminda Vaas hit his maiden fifty-plus score in his 157th ODI. Daniel Vettori took 148 matches and Abdur Razzak 143. Steyn was playing his first ODI in nearly two years.

^ Back to Top ^