Harsha Bhogle hails 'Tough' Kane Williamson after his impactful double ton against Pak

Harsha Bhogle came forward and lauded New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson after he scored a splendid double century in the ongoing second Test match against Pakistan at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch on Tuesday. This was Williamson's fourth double-century and it has put his team in a commanding position to win the contest. 

'Self-effacing': Harsha Bhogle

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the 'Voice of Indian Cricket' went on to say that the Kiwi skipper does not seek any attention as he is shy and likes to stay out of the limelight by addressing the 30-year-old as 'self-effacing' apart from being quiet and tough despite his current form and being the top-ranked batsman in the longest format of the game. 

Last week, the Tauranga cricketer had surpassed his batting counterparts  Virat Kohli and, Steve Smith to achieve the 'Numero Uno' spot in ICC Test Rankings. Kane takes the top spot with 890 rating points while his Indian counterpart Kohli is second with 879 points in his tally.

Meanwhile, Steven Smith on the other hand was the top-ranked batsman in red-ball cricket prior to the four-match home Test series against India. However, with scores of 1, 1, 0 & 8 in four innings meant that the elegant number three batsman dropped down to the third spot with 877 points. It now remains to be seen whether 'Smudge' can rediscover his mojo in the next two Test matches that will be played in Sydney and Brisbane respectively.

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New Zealand in the driver's seat

After having won the first Test comfortably last week, New Zealand are once again in the driver's seat to win the second and final Test match and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Skipper Kane Williamson led from the front as he scored his fourth Test double century (238) and was ably supported by middle-order batsman Henry Nicholls (157) as the duo added 369 runs for the fourth-wicket stand. Tail-ender batsman Daryl Mitchell chipped in with an unbeaten 102 as the Kiwis declared their innings at 659/6. 

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Pakistan in their second innings are 8/1 after having lost opener Shan Masood early for a duck. The visitors are trailing by a mammoth 354 runs at the end of play on Day 3.

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