Long breaks seem to not matter to Kane Williamson too much when it comes to ODI cricket. The former New Zealand captain led his side to victory against South Africa on Monday in Lahore with an imperious 133 not out off 113 balls, hitting 13 fours and two sixes in his stroke-filled innings.
Williamson had not played in the format for nearly a year and a half and his appearances have been sporadic in general due to his injury issues. However, his consistency has been metronomic through it all and he had earlier scored 58 against Pakistan in New Zealand's first match of the ongoing tri-series in Lahore that is acting as a predecessor to the 2025 Champions Trophy. On Monday, Williamson became the second fastest player to reach 7000 ODI runs.
Williamson got there in 159 innings, thus replacing Virat Kohli in the list, who had got there in 161 innings. South Africa great Hashim Amla tops the list, having got there in 150 innings. Amla's former South Africa teammate AB de Villiers squares off the top four, having got there in 166 innings.
New Zealand make light of 305-run target
Debutant opener Matthew Breetzke smashed 150 in 148 balls to lead South Africa to a score of 304/6 batting first in Lahore. While New Zealand were off to a good start, scoring 50 runs in the first 10 overs and losing opener Will Young at the end of that period, the run rate picked up when Williamson walked in. He put up a partnership of 187 for the second wicket with Devon Conway that came in just 155 balls. Conway missed out on a century, falling on 97 off 107 balls but Williamson reached the mark in just 72 balls.
{{/usCountry}}Debutant opener Matthew Breetzke smashed 150 in 148 balls to lead South Africa to a score of 304/6 batting first in Lahore. While New Zealand were off to a good start, scoring 50 runs in the first 10 overs and losing opener Will Young at the end of that period, the run rate picked up when Williamson walked in. He put up a partnership of 187 for the second wicket with Devon Conway that came in just 155 balls. Conway missed out on a century, falling on 97 off 107 balls but Williamson reached the mark in just 72 balls.
{{/usCountry}}New Zealand had a bit of collapse after that, with Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham falling to Senuran Muthuswamy off consecutive balls in the 39th over. Williamson then saw his side home with Glenn Phillips.