Kane Williamson surpasses Sir Don Bradman to join elite list of Test centurions

New Zealand star Kane Williamson slammed a century on Day 1 of NZ vs SA 1st Test. With the century, Kane Williamson also surpassed Sir Don Bradman and joined an elite list of Test centurions.

Kane Williamson slammed 112 runs off 259 balls on Day 1 of New Zealand vs South Africa 1st Test at Bay Oval Stadium in Mount Maunganui. He slammed 15 fours during his innings to justify his top rank as the Test batter in ICC rankings.

The Kiwi stalwart is unbeaten on the crease and will take the strike on Day 2. After New Zealand lost both openers cheaply, Williamson showcased yet another wonderful piece of batting to outplay Proteas bowlers on his home soil.

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Kane Williamson surpasses Don Bradman to join this elite list

Notably, Kane Williamson shattered his 30th century in Tests during the NZ vs SA 1st Test. With the knock, he surpassed Aussie legend Don Bradman in the total number of Test tons. Bradman slammed 29 centuries during his Test career.

Moreover, the former Kiwi skipper also joined the elite list of batters with 30 or more centuries in Test format. The 33-year-old is the 16th player ever to reach 30 centuries in Tests. Legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Jaques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, and Rahul Dravid rule the elite list.

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Kane Williamson 1st Kiwi batter to hit 30 Test tons

Notably, Kane Williamson is the first New Zealand batsman to reach the milestone of 30 tons in Tests. Among active players, Joe Root and Steve Smith are the only batters to be part of the leaderboards. Sachin Tendulkar takes the peak position with 51 Test tons. Notably, India batter Virat Kohli accounts for 29 Test tons.

Meanwhile, South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first in NZ vs SA 1st Test. Tim Southee leads New Zealand in the match. Neil Brand is the captain of South Africa. New Zealand lost openers Tom Latham (20) and Devon Conway (1) cheaply in the match.

Later, Kane Williamson (112*) and Rachin Ravindra (118*) rocked the field with their unbeaten centuries. Till the stumps, both Kiwi batters drove the scoreboard to 258-2 in 86 overs. For South Africa, pacers Tshepo Moreki and Dane Paterson hunted 2 wickets each.

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South Africa vs New Zealand series will witness 2 Tests

The New Zealand vs South Africa Test series will observe two games. After the opening game in Mount Maunganui, both sides will clash at Seddon Park in Hamilton for the second encounter. The South Africa tour of New Zealand 2024 will witness only two Test matches.

Both teams have played 1 Test series in ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 so far. They have won 1 game and lost 1 game each and follow each other in the WTC points table with a win percentage of 50.0. South Africa is short of all senior players in the New Zealand vs South Africa Test series. They have many uncapped players in their squad.