On day two of the first Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet, Kane Williamson, the New Zealand skipper, scored an impressive century on a slow track.
Williamson reached his 29th Test century, tying him with Virat Kohli and Sir Donald Bradman. He was the sole New Zealand player to achieve a fifty-plus score in the innings by the end of day two.
After Taijul Islam dismissed Tom Latham in the 13th over, Kane Williamson walked in and received solid support from Daryl Mitchell following the dismissals of Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls, both falling for less than 20.
Williamson reached his fifty in 75 balls, maintaining a faster scoring pace than usual due to the substantial turn the spinners were getting.
In the 49th over, Kane Williamson had a lucky break when Taijul dropped a catch off Nayeen Hasan at mid-wicket just before the tea break. Another opportunity arose when the batter was on 70, but the Bangladesh fielder misjudged the catch, granting the New Zealand batter another chance.
Assisted by Glenn Phillips, who alleviated the pressure at the other end, Williamson reached his century. However, he fell shortly after, getting bowled by Taijul Islam for 104.
With the hundred, Williamson became the first New Zealand batter to make hundreds in four successive Tests.
Earlier in the year, Williamson scored 132 against England in Wellington and continued his impressive form with back-to-back centuries of 121* and 215 against Sri Lanka in Tests in Christchurch and Wellington. With this latest hundred, he achieved a remarkable feat of four consecutive centuries, putting him in the company of cricket greats like Matthew Hayden, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and a few others.
The record is held by Bradman, who made hundreds in six consecutive Test matches between 1937 and 1938.
At the close of the day, New Zealand stood at 266/8, trailing Bangladesh by 44 runs. A challenging fourth innings chase is looming, especially on a pitch that is becoming increasingly difficult for batting.
