Team India made it to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) despite missing out on a draw in the Ahmedabad Test match against Australia. The New Zealand team also played an important role in taking Team India to the finals. New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by two wickets in the Christchurch Test match, due to which the Sri Lankan team’s dream of reaching the final could not be fulfilled and India got an entry in the title match. Now the final match of the World Test Championship between India and Australia will be played at The Oval from June 7.
Memorable innings by Kane Williamson.
Star batsman Kane Williamson was the hero of New Zealand’s historic victory over Sri Lanka. Cricket fans around the world will not forget the manner in which 32-year-old Kane Williamson batted. Kane Williamson faced an unbeaten 121 runs in 194 balls. During this, by sharing a 142-run partnership with Daryl Mitchell (81), he dashed the hopes of the Sri Lankan team.
During this memorable innings, Kane Williamson dived to reach the crease while scoring the winning run on the last ball of the match, it was really amazing. Remembering that scene, any cricket fans can get goosebumps. This innings of Kane Williamson shows that he does not let pressure come on himself even in difficult situations, which makes him different from the rest of the players.
Williamson’s father was also a cricketer
Kane Williamson’s cricketing journey has been quite interesting. Kane Stuart Williamson was born on August 8, 1990 in Tauranga city of New Zealand in a sporting family. Williamson’s father played for Northern Districts at under-17 level, while his mother was a basketball player. Kane Williamson’s sisters used to play volleyball, but he took to cricket and it ran deep in his veins very soon.
Kane Williamson’s first cricket coach was Pacey Depina, who worked day and night to hone the talent of this star cricketer. Kane Williamson attended Tauranga Boys’ College during 2004–08, where he was head boy in his final year. It is said that he scored about 40 centuries before leaving that place. The special thing is that Kane Williamson made his first class debut for Northern Districts at the age of just 17 during his college days.
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After this, Kane Williamson led the New Zealand team in the Under-19 World Cup held in Malaysia in the next year i.e. 2008. Let us tell you that New Zealand had to face defeat against the Virat Kohli-led Indian team in the semi-finals of that World Cup. Williamson’s hard work paid off and after consistent performance, he was included in the New Zealand squad for the second Test against Australia in March 2010. Although he did not get a chance to play for his country then.
Test and ODI debut against India
Kane Williamson finally made his ODI debut on 10 August 2010 against India, where he was dismissed for a duck. Even in his second match, Kane Williamson could not open the account and was bowled by Angelo Mathews. Since the team management had faith in Williamson’s ability, due to which he was given frequent opportunities. Eventually, Williamson scored his maiden ODI century against Bangladesh in Dhaka on 14 October 2010, which gave a new identity to his career. In the same year, on November 4, he also made his Test debut against India in Ahmedabad. On Test debut, he scored a total of 131 runs facing 299 balls.
The international journey of Kane Williamson which started in the year 2010 is still going on. After the retirement of Brendon McCullum during this tour, Kane Williamson was made the captain of the New Zealand team in all three formats in March 2016. Under his captaincy, Kane Williamson took New Zealand to the finals of the ODI World Cup (2019) and T20 World Cup (2021), although New Zealand had to face defeat on both occasions. In the year 2021, Williamson achieved the biggest success under his captaincy, when New Zealand defeated India to win the ICC World Test Championship title.
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Williamson is also famous as ‘Ken Mama’
Kane Williamson had given up the captaincy of the Test team a few months ago, but he remains the captain of the New Zealand team in ODIs and T20s. In this era of T20, batsmen invent new shots. On the contrary, Kane Williamson has not made any change in his copy book style batting style and he always has faith in his technique. Fellow players also call Kane Williamson as ‘Kane Mama’. When Kane Williamson became a father for the second time last year, Afghan spinner Rashid Khan addressed him by this name.
Kane Williamson’s international record
Kane Williamson has played 93 Tests, 161 ODIs and 87 T20 matches for New Zealand so far. In Test matches, he has scored 7909 runs at an average of 53.80, including 27 centuries and 33 half-centuries. In One Day International, Williamson has 6554 runs at an average of 47.83. Kane Williamson has scored 13 centuries and 42 half-centuries in ODIs. At the same time, in T20 International, Williams has scored 2464 runs at an average of 33.29 and with the help of 17 half-centuries. Williamson is the highest run scorer in Test cricket for New Zealand. Whereas in terms of scoring the most runs for New Zealand, he is second only to Ross Taylor.