Kane Williamson steered New Zealand to a win against Pakistan in the second Test match

Kane Williamson reckons taking New Zealand to the top of the No. 1 ranking in Tests for the first time.

New Zealand grasps the number 1 position in the ICC Test rankings for the first time in history after wiping out Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs in the second Test in Christchurch, on Wednesday. They now have 118 points.

🇳🇿 NEW ZEALAND ARE NO.1️⃣🎉

Victory over Pakistan has sent Kane Williamson's side to the 🔝 of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Team Rankings!

They have achieved the feat for the first time in rankings history 👏 pic.twitter.com/8lKm6HebtO

— ICC (@ICC) January 6, 2021

Pakistan was bowled out for 186 on the fourth day after starting its second innings 362-runs behind New Zealand. Its first innings of 297 a solid execution after losing the toss was surpassed by New Zealand’s 659-9 declared which was built around Kane Williamson’s 238, Henry Nicholls’ 157 and Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 102, his maiden century.

Kyle Jamieson continued a remarkable start to his Test career, taking 6-48 as New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs in the second Test to claim its fourth win in four Tests at home this summer.

Jamieson’s haul gave him a return of 11-117 for the match and at no stage did his figures feel inflated. Trent Boult was his main foil in this innings, taking 3-43.

New Zealand has ended its WTC campaign with a percentage of .700. Australia and India sit at .767 and .722 but are halfway through a series that will alter those numbers.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH| Kyle Jamieson: We had to graft away for decent periods of time. As a bowling unit, we were clinical. From my point of view, just sit back and learn. We have got the four-pronged attack. I am the fourth prong. Try and observe what these guys have done for the years. I will give it to my old cricket club (when asked about a 500 dollar donation on behalf of the main sponsors).

ANZ Player of the Match for his match figures of 11-117 and 30* – Kyle Jamieson #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/dqf0ZELVUo

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 6, 2021

Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan captain: I take responsibility. I didn’t keep well, and the fielding wasn’t great. “If you want to win the match you must take 20 wickets. The bowlers created opportunities early on but we didn’t hold the catches.”. We tried but didn’t do well. We learnt a lot on this tour, We failed in all departments. Congratulations to New Zealand for playing well. The biggest difference between the teams was Jamieson.

Kane Williamson | Player of the Series | New Zealand captain: It’s an incredible couple of games. Even though the result on paper was in our favour, but Pakistan is a quality side. We worked hard and got lucky with a few moments. Kyle is a special cricketer. He’s gone a long way to moving this team forward and complementing the bowling attack. Daryl bats higher and bowls a few more overs, but the attitude both of them brought in was great to see. I am sure there are many more hundreds to come Daryl’s way. It was a real battle for a long time. The runs were tough to come by as Pakistan bowled great lines. The openers gave us a great start and Nicholls batted with a calf muscle injury and it was an incredible effort. Really pleasing performance, nice to finish the Test summer on a high.

Some special words from the skipper on the performances of Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson since joining the Test team #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/sQjJbmXW4h

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 6, 2021