Former Test captain of New Zealand Kane Williamson scored his 29th century in international red-ball cricket equalling Virat Kohli’s ton number in the format on Wednesday (November 29). The Kiwi batter scored his 29th ton against Bangladesh which also made him a batter who has scored a hundred against ten different countries in Sylhet.

This is Williamson’s third straight ton in in red-ball cricket after hitting three figures in his final two innings at home against Sri Lanka in March of this year. It’s interesting to note that he averages above 55 with the white team and took 22 innings and 16 Tests less than Kohli to get 29 hundreds. In his 165 innings of play in Test cricket, Virat Kohli has amassed 29 tons of score. He last played in the format in July 2023 against the West Indies. (Virat Kohli Set To Take Break From White-Ball Cricket, Likely To Make Comeback In IND vs SA Test Series: Report)

Fans were left in awe with the return of Williamson in international cricket as the star batter has been struggling with recurring injuries this year. He was in a race against time when New Zealand came to India for the World Cup and in the first match on his return, he injured his finger which ruled him out for a couple of games again.

Checkout the reactions here:

kane williamson ‘s bat . true picasso pic.twitter.com/jLrLaPbgQ7
— RUDRAPRATAP SWAIN (@RUDRAPRATA54482) November 29, 2023

29th test hundred for Kane Williamson. Now that he’s relinquished captaincy, I wish he unlocks his full potential as a monster test batter to quench his insatiable thirst to score big runs.. Keep going for 4-5 years, target 40+ test hundreds with 60 average. Whaddaplaya. pic.twitter.com/NWNXu7NEDx
— Srini Mama (@SriniMaama16) November 29, 2023

Kane Williamson has scored a Test hundred in (10) different countries.

Younis Khan holds the record of scoring centuries in 11 different countries.

pic.twitter.com/BgkSPhQBym
— Nawaz  (@Rnawaz31888) November 29, 2023

Kane Williamson is an all time great…

The legend of New Zealand cricket.pic.twitter.com/roibf1u1po
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 29, 2023

Most International Hundreds among active players:

1) Virat Kohli – 80

2) David Warner – 48

2) Joe Root – 46

4) Rohit Sharma – 45

5) Steve Smith – 44

6) Kane Williamson – 42* pic.twitter.com/vOrzR6n8NK
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 29, 2023

Earlier,  Bangladesh scored 310 runs on the first day of first Test against New Zealand here but lost nine wickets with the Kiwis picking up most scalps in the third and final session of the day.

In the match played at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Glenn Phillips troubled Bangladesh batters with his off-spin, scalping four wickets and emerging as an unlikely hero with the ball. (T20 World Cup 2024: BCCI Wanted Ashish Nehra As T20 Coach But He Denied – Report)

Opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s 86 (166) set the tone of the day as he survived two sessions of New Zealand’s gruelling bowling line-up. During his time on the field, he stitched up small yet effective partnerships with the batters and allowed Bangladesh to exercise control.

When New Zealand pacers failed to make their mark in the initial overs, Ajaz Patel came into the attack to provide the breakthrough by dismissing Zakir Hasan for 12 (41). Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto joined hands with Mahmudul to stitch a 52-run partnership and make the Kiwis toil hard for another breakthrough.

Philips brought the Kiwis back into the game with his off-spin. He brought an end to Shanto’s quick-paced knock which turned out to be the final wicket of the first session. At Lunch, Bangladesh were 104-2 in 27 overs.

Phillips then sent Mominul Haque to pavilion on 37. Experienced leg-break spinner Ish Sodhi capitalized on the momentum by sending out set batter Mahmudul (86) before his well-deserved century.

Both teams shared the second session credit as Bangladesh amassed 81 runs and lost two wickets. The final session was an action-packed affair as Bangladesh put up 125 runs on the board but lost five wickets as well. Phillips and pacer Kyle Jamieson scalped two each in the final session, while Patel also walked away with one to end the day with Bangladesh’s score reading 310-9 in 85 overs.