Star New Zealand batter and former captain Kane Williamson scored a brilliant unbeaten century on Monday (February 10) to help his side chase down the target of 305 runs against South Africa in Lahore and win the match by 6 wickets. The right-handed batter, who is New Zealand’s leading run scorer in international cricket, faced 113 balls during his stay at the crease at the Gaddafi Stadium, and with the help of 13 fours and 2 sixes, scored 133 runs.
By scoring the winning runs for New Zealand on the fourth ball of the 49th over of the run chase on Monday, Williamson also entered his name in the history books as he became the second fastest batter in the world to score 7000 runs in ODIs. The 34-year-old batter from Tauranga broke Virat Kohli’s record by crossing the 7000-run mark in the 159th innings of his 167th ODI match. Kohli, who has 13,911 runs to his name in 296 ODIs, scored his 7000th ODI run in the 161st inning of the 169th match.
The overall record of being the fastest batter in the world to score 7000 runs in ODIs is held by former South African batter Hashim Amla. During his playing days, Amla crossed the 7000-run mark in the 150th innings of his 153rd one-day match.
Williamson has been in red-hot form these days. In his last eight ODI matches for the 2000 Champions Trophy winners, he has scored one century and six half-centuries. Williamson would like to maintain his super show in the coming matches as well and help New Zealand win the Tri-Nation ODI series final first on February 14 in Karachi and then lead the Black Caps to ICC Champions Trophy 2025 glory.
In the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand will open its campaign on February 19 against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi and then face Bangladesh on February 24 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. New Zealand’s third and final Group A match is scheduled to take place in Dubai on March 2 against India.
