New Delhi: Kane Williamson scored a sensational unbeaten century as New Zealand beat South Africa by 6 wickets and qualify for the final of the tri-series in Pakistan. The seasoned batter remained not out on 133 off 113 balls to help the Kiwis chase down 305-run target in 48.4 overs at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore and qualify for the final of the tro-nation tourney.
Williamson’s 14th century trumped the sensational knock of South Africa opener Matthew Breetzke, who smashed 150 on his ODI debut to set a new record of the highest score by a debutant in ODI history. Breetzke’s maiden ton helped Proteas post a decent total of 304/6 after being asked to bat first.
However, Willamson stole Breetzke’s thunder with his sixth ODI ton on foreign soil. He set the platform for the chase with a century stand with Devon Conway (97) who missed out on a deserved century by three runs. Williamson’s remarkable knock sent a warning signs to the rivals in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
Williamson closing in on Kiwi greats
With 14 centuries to his name, Williamson is only behind Only Ross Taylor (21), Martin Guptill (18), and Nathan Astle (16) in the list of most centuries in ODIs by a New Zealand batter. He is only behind Guptill and Taylor (7 each) in the most overseas centuries by a Kiwi batter.
Extraordinary numbers
Williamson’s recent numbers in ODI cricket are nothing short of remarkable. He has recorded fifty-plus score in seven of his last eight ODIs. Moreover, Williamson hasn’t been dismissed in single digits in ODIs for the last six years with his last single digit dismissal coming in January 2019. Following his sensational century, he is now the second batter with 60 fifty-plus scores for New Zealand in ODI cricket, including 46 half-centuries and 14 tons. Only Taylor (72) is ahead of Williamson in this list.
Williamson matches AB de Villiers with second-fastest ton
Williamson reached his hundred in just 72 balls, the second fastest ODI ton of his career. The ton helped Williamson equal AB de Villiers on the list of batters with most international hundreds. Williamson scored his 47th hundred in his 365th match while de Villiers finished with 47 hundreds in 420 matches in international cricket. However, Williamson is way behind at joint 14th in the most hundreds list in international cricket. Sachin Tendulkar, with 100 centuries, tops the charts.
Kane Williamson scored his 14th century to help New Zealand beat South Africa by 6 wickets in Lahore to book a final spot in tri-nation series. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
