Published 22:58 IST, December 3rd 2020
Wasim Jaffer awestruck by Kane Williamson's elegant batting display in 1st Test against WI
Wasim Jaffer was left awestruck by Kane Williamson's elegant batting display on Day 1 of the 1st Test at the Seddon Park in Auckland on Thursday.
Wasim Jaffer came forward and hailed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson for his splendid batting performance against the West Indies on Day 1 of the first Test at the Seddon Park, Hamilton on Thursday. Coming out to bat at number three after the hosts had lost an early wicket upfront, the consistent batsman meant business as he made the most of his opportunities by punishing the West Indian bowlers for erring in line & length.
'Therapeutic'
Taking to the micro-blogging site, the former Ranji Trophy winner wrote that 'Watching Kane Williamson bat is therapeutic'.
Latham, Williamson help NZ dominate on Day 1
Even though West Indies skipper Jason Holder won the toss and decided to bowl first, it was total dominance from the Kiwi batsmen who made merry of the home conditions despite losing the toss.
The start of play was delayed for a while due to rain but when it got underway, the Windies got the wicket of opener Will Young early on. However, that was the only silver lining in the dark cloud for them after which they were made to toil by Latham and skipper Kane Williamson who added 154 runs for the second-wicket stand before the former was dismissed just 14 short of what would have been a well-deserved century.
The southpaw was castled for 86 by Kemar Roach. The wicket-keeper batsman looked to defend a length delivery but it ended up shattering his stumps after taking the inside edge of the bat. The visitors might have hoped for a revival in fortunes once Latham walked back but it was not to be as Williamson took matters into his hands and hit them to all corners of the ground. The elegant batsman also got company in the form of veteran Ross Taylor who also made his bat do the talking. The duo has registered a 75-run stand for the third-wicket and will be hoping to add more in their tally on Day 2.
Kane is unbeaten on 97 while Taylor is well-set at 31 as the hosts are 243/2 at stumps. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Kane Williamson would be able to add three more runs to his overnight score and end up registering his 22nd century in the longest format.
Updated 22:58 IST, December 3rd 2020