Kane Williamson during the Test match against South Africa in Hamilton on February 16, 2024Image Source : GETTY

Kane Williamson creates history surpassing Ross Taylor in biggest batting record for New Zealand

Kane Williamson scored a brilliant fifty in the first innings and added 30 runs in the second innings of the first Test match against Sri Lanka to become New Zealand's all-time leading run-getter in international cricket on Sunday.

by · India TV

Kane Williamson became New Zealand's all-time leading run-scorer in international cricket during the ongoing Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle on Sunday, September 22. The star batter surpassed the legendary Ross Taylor's record of 18,199 international runs to enter the history books. 

The 34-year-old batter, who broke Ross Taylor's record for most Test runs for his country in 2023, scored 55 and 30 runs in the first Test against Sri Lanka to go top in the international records chart. Taylor was leading the record with 510 innings while Williamson took only 425 innings to surpass the former teammate. 

Since making his debut in 2010, the right-handed batter has broke the major batting records for the Kiwis over the years. He also led them to the historic ICC World Test Championship 2021 title and to the 2019 ODI World Cup final and 2021 T20 World Cup finals. 

Most international runs for New Zealand

  1. Kane Williamson - 18,213 runs in 425 innings
  2. Ross Taylor - 18,199 runs in 510 innings
  3. Stephen Fleming - 15,319 runs in 463 innings
  4. Brendon McCullum - 14,676 runs in 474 innings
  5. Martin Guptill - 13463 runs in 402 innings

Williamson already leads the scoring chart in Tests for his team with 8743 runs 176 innings with the help of 32 centuries. He has been in lethal form in 2024 with 565 runs in 10 innings at an average of 62.77 and is currently ranked second in the ICC Men's Test rankings. He has scored 6810 runs in 157 ODIs and needs 1797 runs behind Kiwis' leading run-scorer Ross Taylor. 

Most international runs by active cricketers

  1. Virat Kohli - 26942 in 591 innings
  2. Joe Root - 19817 in 457 innings
  3. Rohit Sharma - 19234 in 509 innings
  4. Kane Williamson - 18213 runs in 425 innings
  5. Steve Smith - 16261 runs in 394 innings