Kane Williamson all set to break THIS world record in final vs England in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Kane Williamson has been the glue that has held New Zealand together in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. With the top and middle-order performing inconsistency, Williamson has stood tall amidst the ruins. Heading into the final against England in Lord’s on Sunday, Williamson is on the cusp of a new world record. The New Zealand skipper needs only one run more to become the highest run-getter in a single edition of the World Cup as skipper. Currently, Williamson has 548 runs and is level with Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who achieved the feat during the 2007 World Cup in West Indies which Sri Lanka lost to Australia.

Williamson has been in sublime form in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. After not getting a chance to bat in New Zealand’s 10-wicket win vs Sri Lanka in Cardiff, Williamson contributed a solid 40 against Bangladesh and showed his worth with an unbeaten 79 against Afghanistan in Taunton. However, Williamson showed his class and brilliance in the game against South Africa when he smashed his maiden World Cup ton in Edgbaston to give New Zealand a tense last-over victory.

In his next game against West Indies, Williamson rescued the side after both openers had fallen in the first over and he registered his second consecutive century. In the next three games, Williamson registered scores of 41, 40 and 27 but he displayed his brilliance yet again with a fantastic 67 in tough conditions against India in the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Manchester.

In the 2007 World Cup, Jayawardene started the tournament with 85 against Bermuda but suffered a dip with scores of 46 and 7 against Bangladesh and India. After scoring 12 against South Africa, Jayawardene blasted 82 against West Indies in Providence, Guyana and followed it up with 56 against England in Antigua. After being dismissed for 15 against New Zealand, Jayawardene showed his class with 72 against Australia and an unbeaten 39 against debutants Ireland. In the semi-final, Jayawardene blasted 115 against New Zealand to help Sri Lanka reach the final but in Barbados, he was LBW for 19 as Australia registered a hat-trick of titles.

Williamson is the leading run-getter for New Zealand in a World Cup edition both as skipper and batsman. He went past Martin Crowe’s tally of 456 runs which he made in 1992 while he also broke Martin Guptill’s record. During the course of the semi-final against India, Williamson broke former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting’s tally of 539 runs which he scored in 2007.

Among Indian batsmen, only Sourav Ganguly is the prominent name having smashed 465 runs at an average of 58 with three centuries in the 2002 World Cup in South Africa. Williamson is just 126 runs away from breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time tally of 673 runs which took place in the 2003 World Cup and New Zealand will be hoping for glory with Williamson leading from the front.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Kane Williamson is the leading run-getter for New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup.
• Mahela Jayawardene has hit 548 runs in the 2007 World Cup.
• New Zealand has reached the final for the second time since the 2015 World Cup.