WTC Final: 3 current Indian bowlers who have dismissed Kane Williamson the most times in Tests
Kane Williamson will lead New Zealand in the World Test Championship final against India, starting at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on June 18. He will hope to play a significant role for the Blackcaps with the willow in hand.
The Kiwi skipper is the top-ranked batsman in the ICC Test rankings and will be the most prized scalp for the Indian bowlers. Kane Williamson has amassed 7115 runs at an excellent average of 54.31 in the 83 Tests he has played for New Zealand.
However, the silken stroke-maker does not enjoy a great record against India in the longest version of the game. He has aggregated 728 runs in eleven Tests against the Indians, doing so at a slightly below-par average of 36.40 while hitting a couple of centuries in the process.
A total of seven bowlers have accounted for Kane Williamson's twenty dismissals against India in Test cricket. While Pragyan Ojha and Zaheer Khan have got rid of the Blackcaps batting mainstay on five and four occasions respectively, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma have dismissed him once each.
3 Indian bowlers who have accounted for Kane Williamson's wicket the most times in Test cricket
Let us now have a look at the three current Indian bowlers who have picked up Kane Williamson's wicket the most times in the longest format of the game.
#T2: Mohammed Shami - Twice
Mohammed Shami first dismissed Kane Williamson in the second Test of India's tour of New Zealand, played at the Basin Reserve in Wellington in February 2014. The Blackcaps' No. 3 batsman got an outside edge to a Shami delivery and was caught by Rohit Sharma at second slip for an individual score of 47 runs.
Kane Williamson's other dismissal against Shami also came at the Basin Reserve, in the first Test of India's last tour of New Zealand in February 2020. The Kiwi skipper chipped a catch to substitute Ravindra Jadeja at cover after top-scoring for the hosts with an 89.
Overall, Kane Williamson has scored 94 runs off Mohammed Shami's bowling in the five Tests he has faced the Indian pacer, thereby averaging a healthy 47.00 against him.
#T2: Jasprit Bumrah - Twice
Jasprit Bumrah first accounted for Kane Williamson's wicket in the first innings of the second and final Test of India's last tour of New Zealand, played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch in February-March 2020. The Blackcaps skipper nicked a Bumrah delivery to Rishabh Pant behind the wickets after scoring just three runs.
Kane Williamson was again snared by Bumrah in the second innings of the same encounter. He gloved a short-pitched delivery to Ajinkya Rahane at gully after contributing just five runs.
Jasprit Bumrah has conceded only 33 runs while dismissing Kane Williamson twice in the two Tests they have played against each other. The Kiwi run-machine thus averages an underwhelming 16.50 against the unorthodox Indian pacer.
#1: Ravichandran Ashwin - 5 times
Ravichandran Ashwin has dismissed Kane Williamson on five occasions in Test cricket, the joint-most by an Indian bowler alongside Pragyan Ojha.
Ashwin first dismissed Kane Williamson in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test of New Zealand's visit to India in 2012. The Blackcaps' one-down batsman was caught by Virender Sehwag at slip after scoring 13 runs.
Ashwin accounted for Kane Williamson in the first innings of the first Test of New Zealand's next visit to India, played in Kanpur in September 2016. The visiting side's top-scorer in that innings was castled after having compiled 75 runs.
The wily off-spinner was not done yet and got rid of Kane Williamson in the second innings of the same Test match. The Kiwi skipper was caught plumb in front of the wickets after having made 25 runs and became Ashwin's 200th scalp in Test cricket.
Ashwin again dismissed Kane Williamson in both innings of the third and final Test of the same series, played at Indore. In the first essay, the Kiwi skipper was bowled off the inside edge while trying to cut the off-spinner after having made just eight runs. Williamson was then trapped in front of the wickets in the second innings for an individual score of 27 runs.
Kane Williamson has scored 146 runs off Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling while being dismissed by him five times. He thereby averages a below-par 29.20 against the lanky spinner but has never been dismissed by him outside India.
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