Test debutant Kane Williamson (131) deserved his induction to the elite list of visiting debutants scoring a ton on Indian soil
Test debutant Kane Williamson (131) deserved his induction to the elite list of visiting debutants scoring a ton on Indian soil, but a painstakingly slow surface at Sardar Patel Stadium made it difficult for cricketers and spectators to raise their spirits.
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| NZ's Kane Williamson in full flow |
At 20, Williamson is the third youngest visiting batsman to score a ton in India, behind Mushtaq Mohammad and Shahid Afridi.
Williamson shot into prominence during the under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, in 2008. Since captaining New Zealand to the semi-final of that event, he has been tipped as a leader for the future too.
"I tried to play straight and be patient. That was my plan, I watched the ball carefully, didn't get carried away by the slowness of the pitch. If I got some width, I put it away," he said.
In comparison to another centurion on debut ufffd Australia's Michael Clarke, who scored an attacking hundred at Bangalore six years ago ufffd Williamson was subdued, pacing his innings mechanically. He rarely displayed the audacity Clarke did, stepping down the track to Anil Kumble, but instead picked the gaps with a touch of Hyderabadi elegance, bringing his wrists into play while slicing the ball towards third-man or while driving through mid-on or mid-off.
He grew from strength to strength, session by session, scoring 42 off his first 100 balls, 14 from the next 50, but accelerating to his century thereafter.
He got there in style, with two glorious hits to the fence, a pull shot followed by an elegant on-drive, in the space of four deliveries off Zaheer Khan.
Williamson's knock ended at the stroke of lunch with Ojha inducing an edge off his bat with VVS Laxman pouncing onto the catch with his safe pair of hands.
