Lahore [Pakistan], March 5 (ANI): It was records galore for Kane Williamson at the picturesque Gaddafi Stadium as he etched his name in the history books by scripting a unique milestone against South Africa en route to becoming New Zealand’s leading run-scorer in the Champions Trophy and the first player from his nation to cross the threshold of 19,000 international runs landmark.
With a blistering century in the second semi-final of the ongoing Champions Trophy against South Africa, the ‘Fab Four’s’ elite member found his lost groove after enduring silent outings with the bat.
With Rachin Ravindra holding the front at one end, Williamson relentlessly exploited the benign surface of Gaddafi Stadium. With his textbook stance and enchanting technique, the seasoned batter galloped to 102(94), with a whopping ten boundaries and two towering maximums.
It was Williamson’s third consecutive hundred against South Africa in as many ODI innings, making him the first batter from New Zealand to achieve the feat and the first player ever to do so against Proteas.
Williamson’s love affair with South Africa began in 2019 in Birmingham, where he walloped an unbeaten 106. During the buildup to the Champions Trophy, Williamson upped the ante and hammered an unbeaten 133 during the ODI tri-nation series in Lahore.
On Wednesday, he returned to the same venue to make it three centuries on the trot against South Africa in the high-stakes affair. In the ongoing marquee event, Williamson has garnered 189 runs, averaging 47.25, including a sole century and a fifty.
Overall, Williamson has played 10 Champions Trophy matches and amassed 534 runs at an average of 59.33, including two centuries and four fifties, making him the highest run-scorer for the Kiwis.
Williamson added another feather to his cap by breezing past 19,000 runs in international cricket, making him the first batter from his country to achieve the milestone. In 370 matches across all formats, Williamson has racked up 19,075, with a 48.66 average, boasting 48 centuries and 102 fifties.
While Willamson redefined the sublime art of batting, Rachin matched his brilliance with his second century in the ongoing tournament. The duo replicated the heroics of Indian batting maestros Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly in the 2002 edition of the Champions Trophy and became the sixth pair to hit multiple centuries in the competition’s history.
Notably, with their swashbuckling hundreds, Will Young and Tom Latham achieved the same feat for New Zealand during the tournament opener against Pakistan in Karachi. (ANI)
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