Kane Williamson smashed his 30th Test century during the first Test against South Africa where Rachin Ravindra hit his maiden double ton in South Africa’s tour of New Zealand 2024.
Williamson hits 30th Test century
The Blackcaps batter Kane Williamson achieved a feat by smashing his 30th century while his fellow teammate Rachin Ravindra scored 240 runs during the second day of play, the highest maiden men’s Test hundred by a New Zealander.
Williamson and Rachind Ravindra had a partnership score of 219 for the third wicket on day one, helping the side to score 258 runs for 2. The pair added 13 runs on the next day before Williamson was caught on top-edged into the hands of Tshepo Moreki to finish with 118 to his name.
Rachin Ravindra took charge after the dismissal of Williamson, increasing his strike rate. After smashing his double ton, he went surpassing the score of Matthew Sinclair’s 214 scored against the West Indies in 1999.
Kane Williamson dropped an early chance. Capitalizing on the opportunity, he equaled Joe Root’s total while surpassing Don Bradman and Virat Kohli who have only scored 29 centuries to their names.
Continuing his momentum after recently clinching the ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2023 award, Rachin Ravindra has created a pathway of his own.
“After I got to my century, Kane come up to me and said, ‘mate, you’re unbelievable’,” Ravindra said post the first day’s play.
“To be receiving that kind of special praise from one of the best batters in the world. It’s the coolest thing I’ve been a part of. Playing alongside Kane is always very special,” the left-handed Ravindra said.
“Sharing the crease with someone I idolize so much, life has come full circle for me. It’s a real ‘pinch-me’ moment.”
New Zealand put up a huge target of 511 runs against South Africa while South Africa suffered early dismissals as they lost four wickets for 74 runs. Finally, South Africa ended the day by scoring 80 runs.
