I wish I could smack a few like Chris Gayle: Kane Williamson

New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson had a long wait in IPL 10 before he got his first game for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The stylish batsman needed no sighters and was at his very sublime best in the very first game. Playing against the Delhi Daredevils, Williamson hit a brilliant 89 at number 3 to see the Sunrisers post a winning total of 191 on the board.

The key highlight of his knock was the way he nurdled the ball along to keep the scorecard ticking. There were no wild hits and no slogs either. It was all pure class and nonchalant demeanor of Kane Williamson at the display. He put on a marathon century run stand with Shikhar Dhawan and that set the tone for the SRH innings. He was only unlucky to have missed out on a well-deserved century.

In a recent conversation with IPLT20.com, the Kiwi skipper spoke at length about his knock and his aspirations in the days to come in the IPL. He spoke about his style of play and how at times he feels like turning on the beast mode to clobber a few like Christopher Henry Gayle.

It was really a treat to watch him bat as it was his first game in the tournament. He did not take too much time to settle in and meant business straight away. Talking about the same, Kane Williamson said it is all about contributing to the team. In the end what matters is the end result for the team.

“Yes, what you set out to do is to contribute to the team in whatever way possible. I am just fortunate to get a game tonight and to contribute to a winning cause for Sunrisers Hyderabad,” he quoted.

Williamson did not take the hard way neither did he hit belligerent shots. However, he still managed to clear the ropes with his style of play. Reflecting back at the same, the Kiwi cricketer joked that he wishes to hit some like Gayle. But eventually it comes down to realising one’s own strength and that is what matters.

“I wish I could smack a few like Chris Gayle (laughs), but unfortunately not to be. I think it is about adapting to the best of your abilities and playing around with your strong points. There are some incredible players that can whack it 120 meters. I do practice hard in the nets to hit the ball long, but probably it is not in my genetic make-up to do that. So, I try and find a different way, something similar to the knock I played tonight,” remarked Kane Williamson.

In the game against Daredevils, Williamson added 136 runs for the second wicket with Shikhar Dhawan. He lauded the efforts of Dhawan, who scored 70 off 50 balls. Adding further, he cited that it was Dhawan who helped him ease at the crease and did not let the pressure seep in. He hit the odd deliveries and kept the run flow under control and that helped Williamson settle in.

“It is all about playing the situation to the best you can. Shikhar Dhawan was superb today and the way he crafted in the middle overs and picked up the strike-rate towards the end was brilliant. Our partnership helped the team to put up a big score. We knew that there was a lot of firepower in the hut,” said the Kiwi skipper.

“You are trying to do the team justice by increasing the strike-rate. I think the way Shikhar played – having a higher strike-rate than me, allowed me to get in, take my time and then tee off. T20 is very fickle in its nature, so you are fortunate that some of your risks do come off,” he conceded further.