Kane Williamson, proved he can be an equally effective batsman in Twenty20 cricket as in Tests by powering Northern Knights to a seven-wicket victory against Southern Express at the Chhatisgarh Stadium, Raipur on Saturday.
The inaugural match of the Champions League Twenty20 qualifiers was reduced to a 10-match affair due to rains and the Sri Lankans did well to post a competitive 92-5. Openers Kusal Perera (37 off 20 balls) and Danushka Gunathilaka (39 off 26 balls) were the top scorers. Pacer Trent Boult (2-12) and legspinner Ish Sodhi (0-10) put the brakes on the scoring when the Southern batsmen were threatening to break loose.
Williamson who opened the inn-ings with Anton Devcich (14 off 8 balls), turbo-charged the chase by creaming 18 runs in the third over bowled by off-spinner Gunathilaka. The 24-year-old New Zealander smacked seven fours and one six in his 29-ball 52 as the Knights crossed the target in 9.3 overs.
Delighted at the turn of events, Williamson believes the Knights have improved their chances of making it to the group stage.
“It was great to get off to a good start and get a win under our belt,” he said. “When a game is shortened like that, it brings lot more uncertainty into it. It was nice to come off winning at the end of it. There were probably a few nerves early on but it was great to find our feet and play with a lot of confidence.
“Hopefully we can take a lot of confidence from this win to the rest of the two games which are tough. T20 cricket is unpredictable and anything can happen.
“So if we can go out there and play without fear then we know that we can beat anyone on our day,” he added.