'What a comeback to T20I': Fans praise New Zealand captain Kane Williamson's solid 50 against Pakistan

In the 1st T20I clash between New Zealand and Pakistan at Eden Park in Auckland, captain Kane Williamson marked a solid return to the shortest format of the game. The Kiwi skipper not only achieved a significant milestone by completing 2,500 runs in T20I cricket but also played a pivotal role in steering his team to a formidable total against the Men in Green.

While reaching his half-century, Williamson attained the 2,500-run mark in T20Is during the match, becoming the second New Zealand batter and the 11th globally to achieve this feat. Martin Guptill leads the Kiwi T20I runs chart with 3,531 runs, placing Williamson in second position. The third-highest is Brendon McCullum with 2,140 runs, making them the only three New Zealand batsmen with over 2,000 T20I runs.

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While Williamson's innings were crucial for New Zealand, his wicket was a much-needed breakthrough for Pakistan. Abbas Afridi provided the breakthrough by luring Williamson into a mistimed shot, resulting in a catch taken by Fakhar Zaman at long-on. Williamson departed after scoring 57 runs off 42 balls, featuring nine boundaries.

Despite the setback, fans lauded Williamson's comeback on social media, particularly on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

At the time of writing this article, Pakistan, who opted to bowl, had taken five wickets of the Kiwis. Apart from Williamson's 50, Daryl Mitchell also made a huge contribution having smashed 61 runs off just 27 balls. His innings consisted of 4 fours and as many sixes helping take New Zealand to 195 in 17 overs. 

Captain Shaheen Afridi and Abbas Afridi contributed to the wicket column for Pakistan, taking two and three wickets, respectively.

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Squads:

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi (c), Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf.