Williamson pulls out of 2nd T20I as ‘precaution’ after hamstring ‘tightness’

Listen to Story Kane Williamson has had his fair share of injuries over the last 12 months that kept him out of the game. On Sunday, January 14, he got another injury scare during New Zealand’s second T20I against Pakistan at Seddon Park in Hamilton. After the Black Caps were put in to bat first, Williamson stepped out at No.3 and scored 26 runs off 15 balls with three fours and one six.

In the 10th over, he felt some discomfort on his leg while completing a run and was subsequently treated by the physiotherapist. Thereafter, Williamson retired hurt and walked off the park. Later, it was known that Williamson felt ‘tightness’ in his right hamstring. New Zealand Cricket released a statement, saying that he would not take part in the remainder of the match as a ‘precautionary measure’.

In his place, it was Tim Southee, who took over as the captain. After Williamson went off, Daryl Mitchell joined Finn Allen in the middle. Kane Williamson will not return to the field in KFC T20I 2 in Hamilton as a precautionary measure after experiencing tightness in his right hamstring while completing a run in the 10th over and retiring hurt.

After losing the toss, the home team put up a decent score of 194 for the loss of eight wickets. Allen threw his bat around to get to his fourth T20I half century off 23 balls. The right hander scored 74 runs off 41 balls with seven fours and six sixes before Usama Mir accounted for his wicket. Haris Rauf was expensive upfront, but bowled beautifully to finish with figures of 4 0 38 0.

In his last over, Rauf picked up three wickets and did not let the New Zealand batters get on top of his game. Abbas Afridi, who impressed with three wickets in the first T20I at the Eden Park, finished with figures of 4 0 43 2. Shaheen Shah Afridi could not make a breakthrough, but bowled at a decent economy rate of 7.50..