Southampton grit, Abu Dhabi classic - Williamson's finest
Kane Williamson called time on his international career on Friday (June 12), bringing to an end a career spanning a good part of sixteen years during which he featured in 110 Tests, 175 ODIs and 93 T20Is. He ends as New Zealand's highest run-scorer in international cricket, tallying 19,346 runs and 48 centuries across formats.
A typical Williamson innings was often laden with the most effortless strokes - the dab through third man and an exquisite cover drive standing out. There were also numerous instances when he was up for a tenacious scrap, digging his team out of a hole through the course of innings that were more effective than efficient.
As the curtains come down on a decorated career, here's a recap of some of Williamson's finest innings for the Blackcaps across formats.
131 (299) vs India in Ahmedabad, 2010
The first glimpse of Williamson's prowess on the international stage. India posted 487 in their first innings in Ahmedabad, before New Zealand were in a spot of bother at 137/4 on the third day. On Test debut, Williamson walked in at No.6 and combined forces with Jesse Ryder for a 194-run partnership that put the game in the balance. Williamson took his time, trusting his defence while pouncing on anything remotely short by the Indian spinners on a slow deck.
He continued to move the innings forward after Ryder's dismissal, raising a hundred off his 245th delivery, forcing an applause from Sachin Tendulkar on the field. Williamson's defiance ended on 131 as he fell to Pragyan Ojha, and New Zealand threatened to pull off a famous win after India slumped to 15/5 in the second dig before VVS Laxman (91) and Harbhajan Singh (115) bailed the hosts out to a draw. But Williamson laid down an early marker that would define what was to come over the next decade and beyond.
139 (283) vs Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, 2018
In one of the most pulsating Test series of the year, New Zealand and Pakistan arrived in Abu Dhabi with the series level at 1-1. New Zealand slipped from 70/1 to 72/4 in the first innings before Williamson's 89 set up a decent total of 274. Pakistan managed a handy 74-run lead and were sniffing at a series victory when New Zealand were reduced to 60/4 on Day 4. But Williamson kept the spin duo of Yasir Shah and Bilal Asif at bay, forging a 212-run partnership with Henry Nicholls as he notched up a remarkable hundred in a Test defined by attritional batting
He ended the day on 139 and failed to add to his overnight score on the final day but his knock was instrumental towards setting up a declaration for New Zealand. In pursuit of 280 to win the series, Pakistan crashed to 156 before Tea, sealing a historic series win for the Blackcaps
49 and 52* vs India in Southampton, 2021
The inaugural World Test Championship final in Southampton was a damp affair with rain forcing the reserve day to come into effect after the first and fourth days were washed out. Williamson won a crucial toss as India were bowled out for 217, although batting never proved to be easy throughout the course of the Test.
Walking in at 70/1, Williamson dug in for a scrappy innings, blunting the Indian pace troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami with a 177-ball 49 in conditions that consistently aided swing and seam movement. He absorbed the pressure amidst a collapse and helped New Zealand muster a lead of 32 - one that proved invaluable on the sixth day after India were shot out for 170. Williamson produced a much more fluent unbeaten 52 in the chase, unleashing boundaries regularly in the final hour of the game as New Zealand lifted the WTC mace
251 (412) vs West Indies in Hamilton, 2020
For a world grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Williamson's innings was a soothing balm with the sport steadily making its presence felt again. On a green top in Hamilton, West Indies inserted the hosts to bat first but Williamson produced a masterclass in negotiating challenging conditions against a relentless Kemar Roach, who got the ball to move around at will and tested the batters.
The New Zealand skipper put on 154 for the second wicket with Tom Latham (86) and cashed in on any scoring opportunity, ending the opening day on 97. He got to his ton the next morning and doubled it, recording his highest Test score of 251, studded with 34 fours and two sixes. New Zealand posted 519 before their pacers scripted a massive innings-and-134-run win - a crucial result that played its part in securing New Zealand's berth in the WTC final.
121* (194) vs Sri Lanka in Christchurch, 2023
Williamson was front and center of one of New Zealand's famous Test heists in 2023, scripting a chase of 280 against Sri Lanka in little time. He negotiated a tricky passage of play late on Day 4 where he was repeatedly beaten past the outside edge but managed to hang in as New Zealand were 28/1 at Stumps. A long spell of rain wiped out the first two sessions on the final day before play resumed at 3:30 PM local time, with New Zealand needing to get the remaining 252 runs in 53 overs. Latham and Williamson survived a probing spell from the Sri Lankan seamers and the latter continued to enjoy strokes of luck with a dropped chance and more plays and misses. But he picked up boundaries just when New Zealand were in need of them and raised a fifty, following which he switched gears in the company of an aggressive Daryl Mitchell.
The duo raised a 142-run stand off just 157 deliveries although Asitha Fernando stalled their charge with three big wickets. New Zealand needed 32 off the last four overs and Williamson picked the vacant pockets while running hard between the wickets. Once Matt Henry was run out, New Zealand needed five off three deliveries when Williamson produced an incredible shot through point to split the two boundary riders. After a dot ball, he missed the last ball before scurrying to the other end and completing the dive on time to seal a thriller.
145* (136) vs South Africa in Kimberley, 2013
A near one-man effort with the next highest score in the innings being Grant Elliott's 48. Such was South Africa's tidiness with the ball that New Zealand managed just 19 runs in the first ten overs of the second ODI in Kimberley, before Elliott joined Williamson with the score reading 32/2. Once conditions eased out, Williamson peeled three boundaries off Ryan McLaren's first over as he put New Zealand's innings on track.
He cruised along and dominated the partnership although a collapse followed after Elliott's dismissal with New Zealand losing wickets regularly even as Williamson raised a run-a-ball ton. He took a step back amidst the fall of wickets and batted through while battling a bout of cramp. He duly upped the ante again at the death to take New Zealand to 279, which they defended by 27 runs.
67 (95) vs India in Manchester, 2019
In a high-pressure World Cup semifinal, Williamson produced a gritty innings that set the foundation for a competitive total in a match that went into the reserve day. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bumrah were nagging with their radar in helpful conditions as New Zealand managed a meagre 10 runs in the first seven overs. His first boundary was a delightful on-drive off Bhuvneshwar, while he steered New Zealand past 50 at the end of the 14th over as they avoided taking undue risks.
Negating a tight spell from Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal, who got the odd ball to turn, Williamson dragged New Zealand along before notching up a 79-ball half-century. He looked to switch gears against Jadeja but perished to Chahal as he slashed one to point. While a 95-ball 67 wasn't his most fluent innings, it proved very effective as the Kiwis posted 239 in testing conditions, before the bowlers set up a famous win to take New Zealand to a second successive Men's ODI World Cup final.
95 (48) vs India in Hamilton, 2020
Few would argue that this was Williamson's best T20 knock, with a chanceless innings almost hauling New Zealand over the line. The hosts entered the third of this 5-match series 2-0 down and started positively in a chase of 180. Williamson then took control of the innings post the Powerplay, dispatching anything short and maximizing the short boundaries of Seddon Park to full effect.
Not one bowler was spared, with Williamson reserving his best for Jadeja. The highlight, however, was a hat-trick of boundaries off Bumrah, whom he lofted effortlessly over the off-side while manipulating the field like a surgeon at work. An anticlimactic end saw him slash one to the keeper before Mohammed Shami managed to drag the game to a Super Over, where Williamson tore into Bumrah again with a six and a four. Tim Southee failed to defend 17 as Rohit Sharma won India the contest, but the game is just as equally remembered for Williamson's symphonic batting.
