Kane Triumphs in Champions Trophy, but with a Twist

Kolkata: Wednesday saw Kane Williamson reach a one-day hundred in a unique fashion. While it may not have been his first time achieving this feat with a boundary, his shuffle across the stumps to scoop a slower off-cutter over the wicketkeeper's head added a touch of novelty to his innings. His shot to reach fifty was equally audacious, as he came down the track and flicked the ball just short of mid-on without getting to the pitch of the ball. These uncharacteristic shots showcased Williamson's genuine intent to keep the fielders on their toes.

Which is a break from the past because Williamson’s image as a stylist in strife is immersed in his ability to stay rooted in the tried and tested. Flowing boundaries, measured taps to steal singles, nothing too risky, almost under the radar. Not like Virat Kohli, who would make the camera follow him even when he is eating an apple. Or Steve Smith, because who knows what new batting quirk he would come up with next. Joe Root was thought to be similarly wired, till he too hopped on the ‘entertaining batting’ bandwagon. His hundred celebration remains joyfully muted, but the surprising touch of flourish to Williamson’s batting range evokes a few questions.

Why now? Probably because New Zealand need him to, more so in the wake of auspicious scoring from Rachin Ravindra and Will Young who like to bat long, so why not take a few more chances. Especially when the bowlers least expect it. Wiaan Mulder wasn’t amused when Williamson took on his off-cutter like that. Kagiso Rabada was beside himself when Williamson nonchalantly manipulated short fine-leg with a scoop. It doesn’t take much for South Africa to lose their composure in an ICC knockout game. In that context, these were as good as knockout punches. “(Kane) keeps doing it,” Mitchell Santner said post-game. Yes he does.

This engaging version of Williamson has been seen before as well, notably in the 2021 T20 World Cup final against Australia. Only fifty of the innings, strike rate of 177, Powerplay salvager and middle-overs enforcer—Williamson was like a one-man army. Flip around some of those highlights and you have one-day versions of Williamson in World Cups too, most memorably in the semi-finals of 2019 and 2023. But never in an ODI final. To find himself in that situation once again, with the end nearer than before, Kane is visibly striving to go beyond being able. Not that he would tell you. “Regardless of whether it’s my last or not, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it?,” said Williamson when asked if ending on a high against India was on his wishlist.

Even if he doesn’t, Williamson already owns a worthy record. Only the 16th player of all time and the first New Zealander to reach 19,000 international runs, he is behind only Kohli (399), Sachin Tendulkar (432) and Brian Lara (433) in getting there (with 440 innings). Backing that record with three consecutive ODI hundreds against South Africa is a timely reminder of Williamson’s value even though he deliberately underplays it. “My focus is just trying to go out and do the job for the team,” Williamson said when asked if South Africa brought out something special in him. “I’m not totally aware of those numbers. I think there are probably large gaps in between. So, it’s just trying to build partnerships, try and make contributions for the side, and I think everybody sort of shares in that focus, and I guess we bring it back today, and it was a great sort of all-round team performance.”

Individualism outsells team spirit nowadays but like Williamson, New Zealand never cared for it. A deeper analysis of their journey however would uncover an unhealthy amount of strain Williamson has had to endure in all these years. As captain in 2019, likened with underdogs even though there were no shortcuts in New Zealand’s passage to the final. The same thing before the 2023 semi-final as well. To not win hurts, but to keep losing at the final or penultimate hurdle must hurt more. And perhaps no one knows that better than Williamson. Unshackled now, re-imagining his batting, is this the version of Williamson that finally gets New Zealand past the line?

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