The Kiwi batting great reached his 14th ODI hundred against South Africa
Kane Williamson was beloved by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) fans for over a long time. Given the nickname of ‘Kane Mama’ (Uncle Kane) the former New Zealand skipper played seven seasons of Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Hyderabad-based franchise before moving on to Gujarat Titans in 2023. He barely made his presence felt with his new team, playing two matches in IPL 2024 before he was dropped from the playing XI and was never seen.
In the IPL 2025 auction, the 34-year-old was completely ignored by all the franchises leaving him on the list of unsold players along with former SRH teammate David Warner. He recovered from a bad knee injury and returned to the Black Caps’ ODI team after 14 months with a superb 58 in the first ODI of the Tri-Series against Pakistan.
Williamson went one better on Monday in the second ODI of the tournament against South Africa with a brilliant hundred within just 72 balls, showing what the IPL teams are missing by ignoring him.
Besides reaching his 14th ODI hundred in a short time, Williamson also contributed to the second-wicket partnership of 187 runs with opener Devon Conway who narrowly missed his sixth ODI hundred after being dismissed on 97.
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Williamson now has 47 international hundreds which is the most by a Kiwi batter but is far behind Ross Taylor in ODIs, who has 21 hundreds in the format.
It won’t be surprising if IPL franchises come knocking at Williamson’s door as a replacement player if he continues his superb form.
New Zealand are chasing a target of 305 set by South Africa after debutant opener Matthew Breetzke scored a record-breaking 150 off 148 balls at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Scoring a hundred on ODI debut is such a rare feat that only 18 players reached three figures on their debut previously. Breetzke was the fourth South African to have reached a hundred on his ODI and also broke a 47-year old record of highest individual score on ODI debut set by Desmond Haynes. The legendary West Indies batter had scored 148 on his debut against Australia in 1978.
With help from Wiaan Mulder’s 64 off 60 balls and Jason Smith’s 41, the Proteas went on to score 304/6 in 50 overs.
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