Kane Williamson breaks these records with his 31st Test century
Kane Williamson batted brilliantly on Day 3 of the first Test against South Africa in Mount Maunganui He hammered his 31st century in Test cricket while slamming his fifth ton against the Proteas. The batter slammed a 132-ball 109 after hammering 118 in the first innings. His exceptional knock helped New Zealand compile a total of 179/4 at stumps on Day 3.
A knock of intent from Williamson
Williamson came to the crease when NZ lost Tom Latham early on. He added 92 runs with Devon Conway before adding 41 runs with Rachin Ravindra. Later, he added 30 more runs with Daryl Mitchell. He showed great intent during his 132-ball 109 which laced by 12 boundaries and a six. Eventually, Williamson was dismissed by Neil Brand.
Six centuries in the last 10 Test innings
Williamson has now scored six Test centuries from his last 10 innings, including consecutive tons in this match against SA. He has also converted his last 10 out of 11 fifty-plus scores into centuries in the longest format. Here are Williamson's scores in the last 10 Test innings: 132, 1, 121*, 215, 104, 11, 13, 11, 118, and 109.
Joint second-fastest to 31st Test centuries
Williamson slammed his 31st Test hundred in only 170 innings. He became the joint second-fastest batter to complete the milestone in Test cricket. He matched the record of Steve Smith, who also achieved it in 170 innings. Only Sachin Tendulkar (164) is ahead of them.
Williamson has hammered five Test hundred against South Africa
Williamson has compiled 892 runs in 11 Test matches against the Proteas at an impressive average of 55.75. The veteran batter has hammered five centuries against them, which is the most by a NZ batter against South Africa in Test cricket. John Reid, Jacob Oram, and Henry Nicholls have all slammed two Test centuries each against the Proteas.
Fifth NZ batter with centuries in either innings
Williamson slammed 118 in the first innings, followed by a 109-run knock in the second outing. He became the fifth NZ batter to achieve this feat in Tests. With his 31st ton, he has surpassed Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Hayden, and Joe Root (30 each). Among active cricketers, only Smith is ahead of him with 32 Test centuries.
A look at his exceptional Test numbers
Playing his 97th Test match, Williamson has amassed nearly 8,500 (8,490) runs at an average of 55.12. Besides 31 centuries, the veteran batter has also hammered 33 fifties in this format. He has scored 4,494 runs across 46 home Tests at an impressive average of 68.09. This was his 18th century at home. Williamson has also completed 3,000 (3,013) runs in the second innings.
Here's the summary of Day 3
South Africa resumed with their overnight score of 80/4 and were bundled out for 168. Keegan Petersen was the highest scorer for them with 132-ball 45. Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry claimed three wickets each, while Kyle Jamieson and Rachin Ravindra returned with two strikes. In the second innings, NZ reached 179/4 at Stumps thanks to Williamson's ton. NZ lead by 528 runs.
