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[Watch] Kane Williamson's 'Classy Drive' Leads To His Downfall vs PAK

image-lrabqiefKane Williamson in action against PAK in first T20I (x.com)

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson made the most of his early reprieve as he compiled 57 brisk runs from just 42 balls against Pakistan in the first T20I of their five-match series. After hitting Abbas Afridi for successive boundaries in the 12th over of the New Zealand innings, the ‘Black Caps’ veteran was holed out at long-on by an agile Fakhar Zaman.

The match marks Williamson’s first T20I appearance in over a year, as he braces himself for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup through the ongoing home series against the ‘Men in Green’.

Kane Williamson makes 57 on T20I return

Kane Williamson, in his comeback T20I game, arrived to the crease within the first over of the innings after being put into bat first at Auckland’s Eden Park. The cricketer shared a rapid 50-run second-wicket alliance with opener Finn Allen (35), and formed 78 additional runs with number four Daryl Mitchell off just 40 balls.

Williamson brought up the 18th half-century of his career from the 40th delivery of his innings, and hit successive boundaries off Pakistan debutant Abbas Afridi to race to 57 before he was cramped for room by the visiting speedster.

Watch: Abbas Afridi gets comeback man Kane Williamson for 57

Following Kane Williamson’s dismissal at 128-3, fellow half-centurion Daryl Mitchell (61 off 27 balls) and Glenn Phillips (19 off 11 balls) clubbed a few to take New Zealand over the 200-run mark.

Earlier in the match, Williamson received a rare lifeline as he was dropped by Pakistan veteran Babar Azam. The host’s skipper was batting at 11* at the time alongside opening batsman Finn Allen.

Notably, the modern-day batting legend made his return to New Zealand’s T20I lore through the game, considering he played the last of his prior 87 matches back in November 2022 against India.