An all-round ODI giant

For a player whose natural game was more suited to Test cricket, Jacques Kallis did an outstanding job in ODIs as well, with both bat and ball. An aggregate of 11,579 runs is the seventh-highest in the format, and the second-best among all batsmen from outside the subcontinent - only Ricky Ponting, with 13,704, has scored more ODI runs among non-Asian batsmen. To go with all those runs, Kallis also took 273 wickets at an economy rate of 4.83, and despite bowling more sparingly in the last few years of his career, still averaged about five-and-a-half overs per game. Among all the allrounders who've played the game, only Sanath Jayasuriya has meatier stats, scoring 13,430 runs and taking 323 wickets.

There have been questions about Kallis' scoring rate in ODIs, and while there were specific games when he didn't keep up with the asking rate, his overall career strike rate of 72.89 isn't very different from those of Sourav Ganguly (73.70), Mohammad Yousuf (75.10) or Inzamam-ul-Haq (74.24), batsmen who are thought to be pretty good in this format. Kallis' solid presence at No. 3 allowed the other South African batsmen to be more expressive and bat around him. As the game evolved and scoring rates increased, Kallis moulded his game too, probably influenced by 20-over cricket. In the four years between 2007 and 2010 - which were his best years as an ODI batsman - his strike rate increased significantly, to 81.45, and he also combined that with a high average of nearly 55.

During that period, though, he was used more sparingly as a bowler. His best bowling years were much earlier, between 1998 and 2002: 57% of his total wickets came during that five-year period, during which he averaged almost seven overs per match. He also averaged more than one wicket per match, and had a more-than-acceptable economy rate of 4.63. Later in his ODI career, he became more of a batsman, though his bowling remained handy.

In terms of all-round excellence, that was also the period when he was at his most effective: as a batsman in those five years, he scored 5108 runs at an average of 45.60 and a strike rate of almost 71. During that period, only three others managed the double of 2500 runs and 75 wickets; the only other player who scored 4000-plus runs and took 100-plus wickets was Jayasuriya, but he averaged 34 with the bat and 38 with the ball.

Jacques Kallis in ODIs, with the bat

Period	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s
Till Dec 2000	116	3850	41.84	67.76	5/ 27
Jan 2001 to Dec 2004	87	3417	51.77	75.33	8/ 22
2005 and 2006	39	1060	32.12	65.59	1/ 8
Jan 2007 to Dec 2010	65	2675	54.59	81.45	3/ 23
2011 onwards	21	577	27.47	75.13	0/ 6
Career	328	11,579	44.36	72.89	17/ 86

Jacques Kallis in ODIs, with the ball

Period	Matches	Wickets	Average	Econ rate	Overs/match
Till 1997	29	8	57.37	4.83	3.3
Jan 1998 to Dec 2002	139	156	28.32	4.63	6.5
Jan 2003 to Dec 2007	101	73	35.82	5.17	5.0
Jan 2008 onwards	59	36	33.00	4.97	4.0
Career	328	273	31.79	4.84	5.3

The two teams that gave Kallis the most problems as a batsman in ODIs were Australia and England. (They were also teams against whom Kallis had a fair share of problems in Tests.) Against Australia, Kallis averaged 34.58 - about ten runs fewer than his career average - while against England it dropped further to 31.93. (Click here for his ODI career summary.)

However, during his peak years as an ODI batsman (2007-2010), Kallis did much better against Australia, scoring 421 in ten innings at a strike rate of 80.65. He had a bad tour to England in 2008, though, scoring only 68 in five games, but overall in those four years, Kallis was clearly among the leading ODI batsmen, combining a high average with an impressive strike rate. Among those who scored at least 2000 runs during that period, only five batsmen had a better batting index (average multiplied by runs per ball).

The top batsmen in ODIs between 2007 and 2010 (Qual: 2000 runs)

Batsman	Inngs	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s	Bat index*
Virender Sehwag	63	2624	43.01	119.81	6/ 12	51.53
AB de Villiers	79	3369	51.83	92.83	9/ 21	48.11
Sachin Tendulkar	66	3061	51.01	90.10	6/ 19	45.96
MS Dhoni	100	3998	54.02	84.63	5/ 27	45.72
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	52	2419	62.02	72.92	7/ 16	45.22
Jacques Kallis	62	2675	54.59	81.45	3/ 23	44.46

* Batting average multiplied by runs scored per ball

Of the 11,579 runs he scored in ODIs, 7774 of them - or 67% of his aggregate - were at No. 3. Only two batsmen - Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara - have scored more ODI runs at that slot. Kallis' average was slightly higher than those of Ponting and Sangakkara, while his strike rate was marginally lower, which meant the overall batting index for all three (average multiplied by runs scored per ball) are very similar. Ponting is the runaway leader in terms of hundreds, though, with 29 from 330 innings, compared to Kallis' 13 from 200.

Batsmen with most ODI runs at No. 3

Batsman	Inngs	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s	Bat index*
Ricky Ponting	330	12,662	42.48	80.73	29/ 74	34.29
Kumar Sangakkara	212	8319	42.44	78.77	12/ 59	33.43
Jacques Kallis	200	7774	45.72	73.74	13/ 57	33.71
Dean Jones	131	5100	43.58	72.07	7/ 39	31.41
Brian Lara	106	4447	45.84	85.98	12/ 26	39.41
Marvan Atapattu	120	4142	38.35	66.33	4/ 33	25.44
Rahul Dravid	109	4000	38.83	69.60	7/ 27	27.03
Richie Richardson	129	3984	35.25	64.89	4/ 30	22.87
Virat Kohli	86	3975	53.00	91.10	13/ 23	48.28

* Batting average multiplied by runs scored per ball

Where Kallis scored over the other batting specialists, though, was in his bowling contributions. As mentioned earlier, in his peak years he bowled an average of almost seven overs per match, which gave the team the luxury of playing an extra batsman. He is one of only four allrounders to achieve the double of 5000 runs and 200 wickets in ODIs - the others are Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq. Among those four, Kallis has the best allround index (batting index divided by bowling index, where bowling index is the bowling average multiplied by the runs conceded per ball).

The table below shows that Kallis is the only one among the four with a higher batting average than bowling average. However, the other three all have better strike rates than Kallis, which props up their batting index scores. The economy rates are similar, but Afridi's is the best among the lot.

Kallis also achieved the double of 75 runs and three wickets in a match four times in his career, twice each against India and Pakistan. Only two players - Jayasuriya and Shoaib Malik - achieved it more often. (Click here for the full list of players who've performed this all-round act in an ODI.)

Allrounders with 5000+ runs and 200+ wickets in ODIs

Player	Matches	Runs	Ave/ SR	100s/ 50s	Wkts	Ave/ ER	Ave ratio*
Jacques Kallis	328	11,579	44.36/ 72.89	17/ 86	273	31.79/ 4.84	1.26
Abdul Razzaq	265	5080	29.70/ 81.25	3/ 23	254	31.83/ 4.69	0.97
Sanath Jayasuriya	445	13,430	32.36/ 91.20	28/ 68	323	36.75/ 4.78	1.01
Shahid Afridi	378	7619	23.44/ 115.61	6/ 36	378	33.89/ 4.62	1.04

* Bat index divided by bowling index

The multiple strings to Kallis' bow also gave him more opportunities to win the Man-of-the-Match award in ODIs, a feat he achieved 32 times, which is third on the all-time list. The only players with more awards are Tendulkar (62) and Jayasuriya (48), both of whom are also ahead of Kallis in the matches per award stat.

However, Kallis doesn't fare badly in that aspect either. His rate of winning these awards was better than Ponting's and Afridi's, and about as good as Adam Gilchrist's, which is a fair achievement considering how explosive those players are.

Of the 32 match-awards he won, there were only two when he didn't score a half-century. One of those was against West Indies in Dhaka in 1998, when he scored 37 and took 5 for 30 to help South Africa to a four-wicket win. That match was the final of the Wills International Cup, which later became known as Champions Trophy. That remains the only ICC tournament that South Africa have won. The aim was to prolong his ODI career to have one final shot at the World Cup, in 2015, but a poor series in Sri Lanka has ensured that it won't happen. Despite the lack of a World Cup triumph, Kallis' ODI career has been an outstanding one, with all-round highs that few have achieved.