Kane Williamson’s fifth double-hundred in Test cricket helped New Zealand pile up a mammoth 612 for 9 before Tim Southee declared the innings with his side 174 ahead in the first Test in Karachi. By stumps, the visitors had struck twice, leaving Pakistan 77 for 2, still 97 behind.
Having relinquished the red-ball captaincy, Williamson came into this game with questions over his form. His away record in the last few years too didn’t paint a great picture; since the start of 2019, he had just 233 runs in eight away Tests, at an average of 15.53 with a best of 48.
But on Thursday, he demonstrated tremendous patience, great control, and exemplary footwork against spin to almost double that tally. He scored an unbeaten 200 off 395 balls; according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, he was in control 93% of the time. On multiple occasions he skipped down the track to Abrar Ahmed and Nauman Ali, but instead of looking to hit the ball for a six, he focused on chipping it over the bower’s head for four. In all, he struck 21 fours and a six.
Along with Ish Sodhi, who scored a career-best 65, Williamson added 159 for the seventh wicket. The two overnight batters kept Pakistan wicketless in the first session, which seemed to have borrowed the laziness from a winter morning. In 32 overs in that session, New Zealand added just 79 runs, with Sodhi’s contribution being more than Williamson’s.
Chief scores
Pakistan: 438 and 77 for 2 (Imam 45*, Sodhi 1-17)
New Zealand: 612 for 9 dec (Williamson 200*, Latham 113, Conway 92, Abrar 5-205). (Cricinfo)