Williamson Scores 31st Century, Surpasses Root, Hayden

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson continued his current form and hit another century in the second innings of the ongoing first Test match against South Africa at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. This is his 31st century in the traditional format. (More Cricket News)

Williamson had hit his 30th Test ton in the first innings of the Test match and was involved in a long 232-run partnership for the third wicket with Rachin Ravindra (240 off 366 balls) who went on to make his maiden Test double century.

With his 31st Test Ton, the 33-year-old stylish batter from Tauranga surpassed contemporary Joe Root and legendary southpaws Matthew Hayden of Australia and Shivanarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies in the number of overall Test centuries.

Williamson overtook Virat Kohli and Sir Don Bradman's 29 Test centuries in the first innings after he made 118 runs off 289 balls. This is the first instance when he has scored hundreds in both the innings of a Test match. He also became the fifth Kiwi batter to do so. Peter Fulton was the last New Zealander to achieve this feat back in 2013 when he made 136,110 in both innings against England at Eden Park in Auckland.

The no. 1 Test batter has been in fine form since his return after sustaining an injury in the left knee during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. This is his sixth Test century in the last 11 innings.

He made 109 runs off 132 balls including 12 fours and one six in the second innings which helped New Zealand gain a huge lead of 528 runs on the inexperienced South African side at the time of stumps on Day 3. Unfortunately, he was dismissed by Proteas captain Neil Brand just before the end of the day's play.

Now, Australia's Steven Smith is the only current player who is ahead of him in Test centuries. Smith has 32 Test centuries in 107 Tests under his belt. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for most Test centuries with 51 tons in 200 Test matches.