5 records created by New Zealand across formats in 2021

It was quite a productive year for the Blackcaps as they won the inaugural World Test Championship by beating India in the finals and also reached the T20 World Cup finals. Kane Williamson led his side to the first ICC trophy in 21 years as the Kiwis thrashed India by eight wickets at Southampton. Kyle Jamieson, who took a five-for in the first innings, was declared the Player of the Match.

It was some achievement for New Zealand as they last won an ICC trophy way back in the year 2000 when they beat the same opposition India in the ICC Knockout Trophy (now Champions Trophy) final. The year kicked off for New Zealand with a 2-0 Test series win over Pakistan at home.

Trans-Tasman rivals Australia then visited NZ for T20Is which the home team won 3-2. Bangladesh were the next visitors for the limited-overs series and NZ thrashed them 3-0 in both series. The Kiwis toured the UK to face England in two-Test series and won it 1-0. It was time for the ultimate Test against sub-continental giants India and New Zealand beat them to achieve the inaugural WTC.

Tom Latham led the NZ team without many frontline players in Bangladesh for five T20Is and lost it by a 3-2 margin. Kiwi’s impressive run in 2021 continued in the global event as they beat all the odds and qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup final.

Captain Williamson scored a breath-taking 85 but this time it was Mitchell Marsh who broke Kiwis’ hearts yet again in a final to win the title for the first time for Australia. The tour of India wasn’t a good one for the Blackcaps as they lost both the T20I and Test series to end the year.

Meanwhile, here are some of the records that New Zealand created across formats in 2021:

1. Devon Conway becomes second NZ batter to score double century on Test debut

The South-African born NZ player, Devon Conway smashed a double hundred on his Test debut against England at the home of cricket, Lords and became the second NZ batter to get to the milestone. Mathew Sinclair was the first Kiwi who achieved the feat against West Indies in Wellington in the year 1999. Overall the left-handed batter became the seventh player to reach this landmark. This year another player who got the same milestone is West Indies batter Kyle Mayers who scored 210* to win the Test for his team against Bangladesh.

2. Tim Southee became the second pacer to reach 100 T20I wickets

The experienced Kiwi fast bowler Tim Southee reached 100 wickets in T20Is during the first match of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan. He became the second pacer after Yorker king Lasith Malinga to reach the milestone. Overall only four bowlers have taken 100 scalps in the shortest international format with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan leading the chart with 117 wickets. Southee has 111 scalps to his name. Retired Malinga occupies the third spot with 107 wickets and Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan has 103 wickets to his name.

3.Kane Williamson becomes the first captain to lead a team in all major finals across formats

The ice cool Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson became the first captain to lead a team in all major tournament finals in all three formats. In 2019, he led his team in 50-overs World Cup final against England at Lords when New Zealand lost the ultimate match agonisingly on boundary count.

The match and the super over both got tied and England won it by virtue of scoring more boundaries in the main match. It was heartbreak for all Kiwi fans as they had lost the 2015 ODI World cup final too. In June this year Williamson took his side to WTC final win over India on England soil and won an ICC trophy for NZ after 21 long years as the pain of 2019 WC final was certainly eased to some extent.

The smiling faced captain Williamson again led NZ to T20 World Cup final this time in November this year only to lose it against rivals Australia as the wait for a World Cup continued for the Blackcaps.

4. Kyle Jamieson becomes fastest NZ bowler to 50 Test wickets

During the first Test against India at Kanpur in November this year, Kyle Jamieson became the fastest Blackcaps bowler to reach 50 wickets in Tests. He achieved the milestone in his ninth Test while New Zealand’s exceptional quick Shane Bond had reached the landmark in 12 Test matches.

Ever since his debut against India in February 2020, Jamieson has been a consistent performer in all the ten Tests which he has played. He has an outstanding average of 16.03 and five times he has got five-for in an innings. The tall fast bowler from Auckland was the Player of the Match in the inaugural WTC final which Kiwis won by beating Virat Kohli’s Indian team.

5. Martin Guptill becomes the highest run-scorer in T20Is

During the three match T20I series against India after the T20 World Cup, the swashbuckling New Zealand opener Martin Guptill became the highest run-getter in T20Is. He went past India batter Virat Kohli’s tally of 3227 runs when he scored 152 runs in the T20I series.

With 165 sixes, Martin Guptill has hit the most maximums in T20Is. India’s Rohit Sharma is behind him for clearing the ropes 150 times. Guptill is considered to be one of the most dangerous white-ball format batter ever since making his debut.