IPL 2018: Rohit Sharma Hails Sunrisers Skipper Kane Williamson's Batting

It is safe to say that Kane Williamson is just redefining batting in T20 cricket with his exception batting exploits in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Not the hardest hitter of the cricket ball, the Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper has made life tough for the bowlers with his remarkable consistency.

Before the tournament began, Williamson was given the responsibility to replace none other than David Warner as Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper after the latter was banned in the aftermath of the ball tampering scandal. And the New Zealand star has exceeded all expectations. On Thursday against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the right-handed batsman came up with yet another gem of a knock.

The leading run-scorer for Sunrisers this season, Williamson had Royal Challengers bowlers in all sorts of all trouble with his scarcely believable gap-discovering skills as he kept his side in the hunt of a huge 219-run target till the final over of the game. Despite losing openers cheaply, an unfazed Williamson almost single-handedly took Sunrisers to a remarkable win. He raced-away to a 28-ball fifty to set the tone for the big chase.

He compiled a 135-run stand with Manish Pandey, giving the Royal Challengers a lot to worry throughout his stay. Williamson’s fight finally ended in the 20th over when his side needed 20 runs. On the very first ball of the over, Mohammed Siraj sent him back for 81. The knock came off just 42 balls and included 7 fours and 5 sixes. The Sunrisers went on to lose the game by 14 runs.

But despite the loss, Williamson has been garnering widespread praise from all around for his knock. In fact, his innings was so impressive that even Rohit Sharma could not stop himself from lavishing praise on him. The Mumbai Indians took to Twitter to hail the Kiwi batsman, tweeting:

“T20 cricket isn’t just about power, it’s also about being smart and playing to your strengths and Williamson is doing exactly that.”

T20 cricket isn’t just about power, it’s also about being smart and playing to your strengths and Williamson is doing exactly that

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) May 17, 2018