New Zealand’s veteran batter, Kane Williamson, scored a fiery century against South Africa in the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy in Lahore, Pakistan. The batter scored his 15th ODI ton in 91 balls. He scored his third consecutive century against South Africa, as the earlier one came in the Tri-Series, which concluded recently. Williamson should be named the man of the semifinals, as he scored a 50+ score for the third consecutive time in the ICC ODI event. He scored 50+ score in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup, the 2023 ODI World Cup and now in the Champions Trophy. His innings conclude soon after, scoring 102 runs in 92 balls. He also became the first Kiwi player to score more than 19k runs in international cricket.
Kane Williamson in NZ vs SA
Williamson came to bat at number 3 and anchored the innings really well along with Rachin Ravindra. Both players batted so well that they had the best partnership of the Champions Trophy as they contributed 164 runs together. Rachin also scored a century with him. Their partnership and steady play helped New Zealand reach 250+ runs in 39.1 overs, setting a challenging target for South Africa.
Fourth most centuries in ODIs for NZ
In the list of New Zealand ODI cricketers, Kane Williamson currently stands fourth in terms of the total number of centuries scored. At the top is Ross Taylor, who leads with 21 centuries, followed by Martin Guptill with 18, and Nathan Astle with 16 centuries. Kane Williamson, with 15 centuries, is now just behind Astle. To move up to the third spot in terms of centuries, Williamson needs to score one more to match Astle’s 16. If he aims to surpass Guptill and secure the second position, he would need 3 additional centuries to equal Guptill’s mark of 18 centuries.
