This is one of the most famous batter vs bowler rivalries in cricket over the last 20 years. This is one of those very rare occasions when the bowler was in full control throughout the rivalry. It was in this rivalry that the term bunny was created. Graeme Smith was such a great batter but whenever he came up against Zaheer Khan, he got out. India fans used to wait for this to happen. There was a lot of respect between the two.
Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith is one of the best batters that South African cricket has seen. He is also the longest serving captain for South Africa. He has played 117 Test Matches for South Africa. He has scored 9265 runs at an average of 48.26. He has hit 27 Test Hundreds and 5 Double Hundreds. He has also played in 197 ODIs for South Africa. He made 6989 runs at an average of 38. He smashed 10 Hundreds in ODI Cricket. In total Graeme Smith made 16200+ international runs. Check here Best Graeme Smith Innings
Zaheer Khan
The great Zaheer Khan played for India as the only great left arm fast bowler. And ever since he has retired, India has not been able to find anyone who is half as good as him. He has played 92 Test Matches for India. He has taken 311 Wickets for India in Test Cricket at an average of 32.95. He has 11 Five Wicket Hauls in Test Cricket and 1 time he has taken 10 wickets in a Test Match. He has also played in 200 ODIs for India. He has taken 282 Wickets in ODI Cricket. He has a total of 593 international Wickets. A look at Best Zaheer Khan bowling performances
Head to Head
They have played against each other 25 times in international cricket. Zaheer Khan has dismissed Graeme Smith 13 times out of those 25 meetings they have had which means more than 50%. Zaheer Khan has bowled 364 balls to Graeme Smith in Test Cricket. Graeme has made 229 runs while being dismissed 7 times. In ODI Cricket, Zaheer Khan has bowled 98 balls and has gotten Graeme Smith out 6 times.
Memorable Encounters
Zaheer Khan got the wicket of Graeme Smith in the 2002 Champions Trophy when he got him out for just 4 runs. This was the first major meeting between the 2 cricketers.
During the 4 ODI Series in 2006, Zaheer Khan got Graeme Smith out for 0 in 3 of the 4 Matches and 1 in the third. All the 3 wickets were either bowled or LBW. This was an unusual occurrence.
During the 2011 World Cup, Zaheer Khan got the wicket of Graeme Smith at the score of 16 as he was caught by Sachin Tendulkar.
During a Test Match in 2010 at Durban, Zaheer Khan got the wicket of Graeme Smith for just 10 runs and this allowed India to win this Test match.
