'Kane Williamson plays very few dot balls'- Nikhil Chopra heaps special praise on New Zealand skipper's ability to rotate strike

Former India spinner Nikhil Chopra has lauded the New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson for not playing many dot balls while batting. The Kiwis are currently locking horns with Pakistan in the first semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Williamson might not be a natural power-hitter, but he is an impactful player with the potential of rotating strike at regular intervals while batting and it is this unique quality of the BlackCaps skipper which has earned Chopra’s admiration. Even in the game against Pakistan on Wednesday (November 9), he scored 46 runs off 42 balls after coming in to bat in the first over of the innings.

Kane Williamson’s strike rate has been more: Nikhil Chopra

“There are no second thoughts about that and with this being a big match, New Zealand batting first  you (Kane Williamson) as a captain will get some time out there. The way he bats if you look at his previous and the later matches, his strike rate has been a lot more. So, his strategy will be very clear which will be to keep the scoreboard ticking”, said Nikhil Chopra while speaking on ‘BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti’ on CricTracker.

“If you look at his game, his strategy is to play lesser number of dot balls and give strike to the other batter. He looks to change gears only after scoring 30-40 runs. He then plays those chip shots, plays really well against spin and he also looks to make good feet movement”, he added.

“However, the runs that he had scored against India (67 in 2019 World Cup semis) after that somewhere down the line that momentum has been lost, but a big player needs only one innings to regain back is confidence because after coming back from injury and that too a tennis elbow injury. So when you play the shots and there is no stiffness, you get a feeling that you are fine. So you can go and express yourself” he further added.

“So I feel Kane Williamson will be the key factor when it comes to scoring 160 runs against this bowling attack”,  said the cricketer-turned-commentator.

Kane Williamson's knock and Daryl Mitchell's unbeaten 53 made sure that New Zealand posted a fighting total of 152 runs in their 20 overs.