C🦄aptain Kane Williamson hit a six to reach his century and level the scores and then stroked the winning runs with a boundary off the next delivery as New Zealand edged South Africa by four wickets with three balls to spare in a 49-over rain-affected game.
Williamson scored an unbeaten 106 ꦏoff 138 balls in a composed innings to guide the Black Caps to 245-6 chasing 242 for victory.
The unbeaten New Zealanders have now moved to the top of the table with nine points from four wins and a point from theꩲ washout game against 🔯India. On the other side, South Africa has just one win from six games and its chances of reaching the semi-finals are almost over.
Williamson shared a 91-run partnership with Co🀅lin de Grandhomme, who scored 60 from 47 b🐬alls, to get the Kiwis within reach.
De Grandhomme’s dismissal left New Zealand needing 14 runs from 11 balls and four wickets in hand. Williams angled a boundary off the last ball of the penultimate over to set up a scenario where New Zealand needed eight runs off the last over to win.
Mitchell Santner took a single in the first ball of the last over from Andile Phehlukwayo, and Williamson hit the sꦗix and the boundary from consecutive balls to finish it off.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Kane Willi✃amson out h♋ere adding a new star to the New Zealand flag *
— ICC (@ICC)
Another World Cup, another heartbreak for South Africa. Their story of the World Cup has been a long ജrunning tear-jerker.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha)
Kane Williamson absolutely Dhoni-ed that innings
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek)
makes such a big🥂 difference to the . Paces his innings so well.. Great control and great skill. Reads the games beautifully
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani)
Morgan grabbed the headlines for his power Hitting exploits yesterday and rightly so but this Williamson innings today is something else … Under immense pressure he has played an old school gem … What a player … What a Ton …
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan)
What a marvellous innings from Kane Williamson. Fantastic game of cricket and his calmnes🎐s stood out in taking New Zealand home. Terrific stuff
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281)
//twitter.com/hershybru/statu🦩s/1141420090983890946
Gem of a playꦐer, Kane 🐻Williamson. Composure and class
— Mike atherton (@Athersmike)
Kane Williamson is a champion.
Along with🤪 Dhoni the coolest head in world cricket. What a fantas🐻tic chase and a great victory for New Zealand— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif)
No fireworks, no showmnaship. Just a clinical completion of the task at hand. This man is the ‘Mechanic.’ Like Jason Statham, the perfect executioner…
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra)
Kane Williamson you beauty!!!
— Grant Elliott (@grantelliottnz)
//twitter.com/dizzy259/status/1141419186054467586
Kane Can. What a time to bring up his first World Cup Ton. Top knock by a top player. New Zealand to stay in the top four….in all likelihood, right till the end.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash)
Man of the Match : Kane Williamson
— betvisa68.com (@CricketTimesHQ)
Kane Williamꦬson Top dog! Superb❀ century to anchor his team to win in nerve wracking contest
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah)
It's Williamson's first World Cup hundred. And what a hundred. New Zealand are almost through the semis. And South Africa almost out.
— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal)
All class..
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial)
Kane Willi🗹amson is mayonn꧂aise. But sriracha mayonnaise.
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E)
This is New Zealand's 10th consecutive win while chasing in ICC ODI World Cups.
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman)
End of the road for South Africa. Usual script in world cups for them. Brilliant from Williamꦐson and NZ shows w𝕴hy they can never be ignored. England NZ India and Aus though Bangladesh may not agree.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar)
20 years later
Same venue, Last over
SA get eliminated from the tournament— Gaurav Sundararaman (@gaurav_sundar)
Kane Williamson – you beauty! Captain Cool
What a knock under pressure
Class act – Kept losing wickets at regular intervals but Williamson kept his cool
Sout🦹h Africa have not beaten New Zealand in a World Cuꦜp game since 1999!— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang)
//twit𓆏ter.com/grantrobertson1/status/1141꧟418821414088705
Auckland 2015: NZ beat South Africa by 4 wickets in the💖 last over.
Birmingham 2019: NZ beat South Afr🐈ica by 4 ಞwickets in the last over.
This is also NZ's 5th consecutive win against South Africa in World Cup matches.
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad)
