New Zealand's 3 highest run-scorers vs India in ODI World Cups ft. Glenn Turner

The match between India and New Zealand is an underrated rivalry in the world of cricket, especially when the traditional ones like Australia vs England and India vs Pakistan take center stage. However, the former will be an intriguing clash on Sunday, October 22, in Dharamsala with both teams unbeaten in the tournament so far.

New Zealand has a better record against the host in the World Cup, having won the contest five times against India’s three with one game being abandoned due to poor weather conditions.

The Blackcaps knocked out Virat Kohli and his men in the 2019 World semifinal, which happens to be the last encounter between the two sides in the quadrennial event.

Since then, both teams have changed with their matchups and strategies and only time will tell which of them will flourish in the 2023 World Cup.

But for now, let us look at three New Zealand batters who have scored the most runs against India in their eight completed matches in the showpiece event.

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3 New Zealand batters with most runs against India in World Cup:

#3. Ken Rutherford - 122 (1987-1992)

Ken Rutherford scored 122 runs against India in three World Cup innings at an average of 40.66. The right-handed batter’s most significant show out of the three outings came in the 1987 World Cup Match 8.

While chasing 253, the opener made 75 runs in 95 balls, hammering six fours and two sixes, though the knock didn’t pay off well with India turning the victorious side that night. Overall, the 57-year-old scored 416 runs in 12 innings at 41.60 in the quadrennial tournament across two editions.

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#2 Andrew Jones - 131 (1987-1992)

Andrew Jones spent eight years of his international cricket career for the New Zealand men’s cricket team. He played two editions of the ICC World Cup in 1987 and 1992, finishing with 416 runs in 13 innings at an average of 37.81.

The 64-year-old former New Zealand player, who turned banker post his cricket days and later co-owned a film company in Auckland, scored fifties against India in both innings he played.

His 64 off 86 balls in the 1987 World Cup went in vain after the Kiwis lost by 16 runs in Bengaluru, but Jones’ unbeaten 67 proved to be a match-winning knock in Dunedin in 1992, with his side chasing 231 with 17 balls to spare.

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#1 Glenn Turner - 157 (1975-1979)

Glenn Turner currently sits in eighth position in New Zealand’s all-time highest run-getters in the World Cup - 612 runs in 14 games at an average of 61.20. Stephen Fleming, who has the most runs for his country (1075) in the tournament, could only manage 45 runs in two innings against India.

Turner was the most established opening batter of his generation, someone who had an insatiable appetite for scoring runs. He was unbeaten on 114 off 177 balls as New Zealand defeated India in the 1975 World Cup after chasing 231. This is the only century scored by a Kiwi player against India in all nine meetings of the World Cup.

He remained not out in the next edition of the World Cup as well, scoring 43 off 76 balls in a mediocre chase of 183. Batting at No.4, Turner stitched an unbeaten 80-run stand with opener Bruce Edgar (84).