5 most successful South African batting pairs of all time 

South Africa might have missed out on international cricket due to ICC's ban, but, after they came back into the fold, they quickly became one of the best teams in Test cricket.

Over the years, they have produced some of the finest Test batsmen and naturally, some of them have gone on to become excellent batting partners.

Those batsmen complemented each other perfectly and fed off each others' strengths, thereby making them an excellent pair.

South Africa have had plenty of such superb batting pairs and here is a look at 5 of the most successful ones.

#5 AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis

Arguably, these two are the greatest batsmen that South Africa has ever produced and when AB de Villiers made his Test debut, Kallis was already an established star in international cricket.

They played Test cricket together from the time De Villiers debuted in 2003 till Kallis' retirement in 2013 and during that decade, the South African middle-order greats were involved in 44 partnerships.

During the course of those partnerships, the pair emerged as the 5th most successful batting duo in South African cricket history with a total of 3,108 runs. Their average stand amounted to a staggering 75.80 and they made century stands 13 times, while their partnerships crossed the 50-run mark 7 times.

Their highest stand was 256, which they put on against India at Ahmedabad back in 2008, a Test match in which South Africa handed the hosts an innings defeat.

#4 Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith is among the best openers to have played Test cricket in years and at the beginning of his career, he had the privilege of opening the innings with another South African great in the form of Herschelle Gibbs.

The two of them generally involved in opening partnerships and in total, they were involved in 68 stands for their country in Test cricket.

Gibbs' swashbuckling stroke play and Smith's unorthodox but hugely effective technique made them the 4th most successful batting pair in South African cricket with a total of 3,274 runs in 68 partnerships in around 6 years (2002-2008).

Gibbs and Smith put on a century stand on 7 occasions and their partnerships crossed 50 or more 13 times.

The partnerships averaged an excellent 50.36 and their highest stand was an epic 368 for the 1st wicket against Pakistan at Cape Town, back in 2003.

#3 Jacques Kallis and Gary Kirsten

Gary Kisten was a pillar of the South African top order in the 1990s, while Jacques Kallis is arguably the greatest batsman that the nation has ever produced.

They batted together on 64 occasions between 1997 and 2004 and their prolific partnerships had a lot to contribute to the success that the South African team enjoyed in that period.

They were both technically sound, patient batsmen and had the ability to score big hundreds once well-set.

The Kirsten-Kallis pair scored 3,592 runs at a staggering average of 61.93 and the majority of their partnerships were for the 2nd wicket.

They put on 9 century-plus stands and 17 of their partnerships were worth 50 or more runs to the team. Their highest partnership was a 249-runs stand for the 4th wicket that they put on against the West Indies at Durban in 2003.

#2 Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith

South Africa's dominance in Test cricket was heavily influenced by a superb fast bowling arsenal and a top-order that could put up big totals.

Much of the credit for that should go to the former captain and opening batsman Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.

When the first-wicket partnerships are substantial, then the rest of the batting order can almost always cash in and that is what made South Africa such a hard team to beat.

Between 2006 and 2014, Smith and Amla were involved in 65 partnerships and amassed 3,658 runs for their efforts, which also included 10 century-plus stands and 12 stands in excess of 50 runs.

Both the players were capable of grafting and at the same time, had the ability to dominate bowling attacks at will. Their average of 57.15 is a proof of how prolific they were and it is not a surprise that Smith and Amla make up the 2nd most successful batting pair in South African cricket.

#1 Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis

Two of South Africa's and indeed, the world's, best batsmen of the last 15 years also combined brilliantly whenever they batted together and their partnerships went a long way towards turning the team into the world's best.

Hashim Amla usually batted at number three, while Kallis batted at numerous positions in the years between 2004 and 2013.

Most of the partnerships were for the 3rd wicket, 4th wicket and the 2nd wicket. However, whenever the two combined, they were sublime and over the course of 67 partnerships, Amla and Kallis became the most successful batting pair in South African Test cricket history.

They put on 3,923 runs in total and averaged an incredible 61.29 per partnership. They had crossed the 100-run barrier 11 times and scored in excess of fifty runs on 10 instances.

Their highest stand was an unbroken partnership of 337 for the 3rd wicket against England at the Oval in 2012. South Africa duly won the game by an innings and 12 runs.