New Zealand's veteran batter, Kane Williamson, smashed his 30th Test century on Sunday at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui against South Africa to move past two of the greatest legends of the game - Ricky Ponting and Sunil Gavaskar.
New Zealand's former Test skipper grabbed the opportunity with both hands after the South African captain and debutant Neil Brand elected to field first.
Slotted to come in at three, Williamson found himself in the middle in the second over of the game after debutant pacer Tshepo Moreki trapped Devon Conway in front of the stumps with New Zealand's scorecard reading 2/1.
Williamson, 33, wasted no time getting into his groove and struck the 19th ball of his innings for an elegant boundary through the covers.
The Kiwi took 125 balls to reach his half-century but got there in style as he caressed a half-volley on the pads through mid-on and mid-wicket for a boundary.
The South African attack made him toil hard for his runs but he embraced the challenge with open arms.
As gritty as ever, Williamson smashed another four, this time off Tshepo Moreki, to reach the three-figure mark. Williamson's hundred, his 17th in New Zealand, helped him become the fourth-fastest player (fewest innings) in the history of Test cricket to score 30 centuries.
Williamson scaled the milestone in his 169th Test innings to surpass Ponting and Gavaskar who had struck their 30th Test tons in their 170th and 174th Test innings respectively.
Players with the fewest innings to 30 Test hundreds
| Innings | Player |
| 159 | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 162 | Steve Smith |
| 167 | Matthew Hayden |
| 169 | Kane Williamson |
| 170 | Ricky Ponting |
| 174 | Sunil Gavaskar |
New Zealand's playing XI:
Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee (c), Matt Henry
South Africa's playing XI:
Neil Brand (c), Edward Moore, Raynard van Tonder, Zubayr Hamza, David Bedingham, Keegan Petersen, Ruan de Swardt, Clyde Fortuin (wk), Duanne Olivier, Tshepo Moreki, Dane Paterson
