New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson achieved his second century of the match in the ongoing first Test against South Africa in Mount Maunganui, putting the hosts in control of proceedings. The former New Zealand captain hit a quick 109 as the hosts reached 179-4 at stumps in their second innings at the Bay Oval on Day 3. This is the first time that Williamson has scored centuries in both innings of a Test, with him his amounts to 31 tons in the game's longest format.
After scoring his 30th and 31st centuries, Williamson achieved multiple milestones in the first Test against a depleted Proteas.
Williamson scored his 18th Test hundred in New Zealand, placing him sixth in the list of most tons at home. Australia great Don Bradman and former England skipper Joe Root also have 18 Test centuries.
KANE WILLIAMSON HAS 6 HUNDREDS IN THE LAST 6 TESTS. pic.twitter.com/1u7rPjvpm8
– Johannes. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 6, 2024
The overall list is jointly managed by Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka, Jacques Kallis of South Africa and Ricky Ponting of Australia, who have each scored 23 centuries on home soil.
The 33-year-old is the joint second-fastest, along with Australian Steve Smith, who has scored 31 Test hundreds. Legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar tops the rankings after achieving the feat in his 165th innings.
Williamson is only the fifth New Zealand batsman to record centuries in both innings of a Test. Glenn Turner, Geoff Howarth, Andrew Jones and Peter Fulton are the others doing this. Overall, Williamson's performance in the first Test marked the 92nd time a player has scored a century in both innings of a Test match.
A second century for Kane Williamson! He becomes the fifth New Zealand player to score two hundreds in the same Test. @BLACKCAPS against South Africa: 1st test | LIVE on DUKE and TVNZ+ pic.twitter.com/dOHYOBkMpQ
— TVNZ+ (@TVNZ) February 6, 2024
He is now the player with the most centuries at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui (3).
Last but not least, Williamson has converted 10 of his last 11 fifty plus scores in Tests.
Most hundreds in international cricket among active players:
1) Virat Kohli – 80
2)David Warner-49
3) Joe Wortel – 46
4) Rohit Sharma-46
5) Steve Smith-44
6) Kane Williamson-44* pic.twitter.com/PtnzDBujx4– Johannes. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 6, 2024
He is also New Zealand's all-time leading run-getter with 8,490 runs in 97 Tests.
New Zealand in control versus South Africa
New Zealand coach Stead said Williamson's prolific form was “fantastic” for his teammates, noting the role he played in the support act as Rachin Ravindra scored a maiden double century in the first innings.
“Kane has been an incredible player for us and he just keeps scoring points,” said Stead.
“He's a tired boy now. He'll be dealt with a little bit tonight I think, but he's just fantastic for the team.”
Stead would not say whether New Zealand would press charges overnight, preferring to keep them “in the dark”.
He explained that the decision did not force the sequel and considered the suitability of his bowling attack as a priority ahead of next week's second Test, followed by two Tests against Australia.
“We felt like this was the first of four Tests for us in quite a short space of time and we wanted to make sure there was an element of freshness to our bowlers.”
(With AFP inputs)
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