New Zealand captain Kane Williamson became the youngest player to score a century against all nine Test-playing nations during day two of their match with Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
The 25-year-old, playing his 50th Test, joined a list of 12 other players to achieve the feat when whipping a full Donald Tiripano delivery to the square-leg boundary in the second over of the day.
After Williamson departed for 113, Ross Taylor made history of his own when he overtook Martin Crowe as the Black Caps’ third highest Test run-scorer during his second successive century.
BJ Watling also added an unbeaten 83 to allow the Black Caps to declare on a mammoth 582 for four at tea.
Zimbabwe, beaten by an innings in the first of two Tests, made slow progress in the final session as openers Tino Mawoyo and Chamu Chibhabha crawled to 55 without loss from 30 overs at the close.
But the hosts, 527 runs behind, still face an uphill task to save the match with three days remaining, especially after New Zealand piled on the runs when they resumed on 329 for two.
Zimbabwe immediately took the new ball but could not prevent Williamson, having resumed on 95, completing his history-making ton.
Williamson departed in the ninth over of the day though, caught at gully flashing at a wide Michael Chinouya ball, before Henry Nicholls was trapped lbw by Graeme Cremer for just 15.
But Nicholls’ dismissal only brought Taylor and Watling together and the fifth-wicket pair made Zimbabwe toil during an unbroken stand of 193 in 45.1 overs.
Taylor, dropped on 91 by wicketkeeper Peter Moor, followed his first-Test unbeaten 173 with 124 not out, his 15th format hundred, while Watling hit 10 fours in his 142-ball knock to lift New Zealand to their highest total versus Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe were then faced with a 30-over final session and were content on solely surviving as they started their innings with five consecutive maidens.
Chibhabha and Mawoyo successfully frustrated the New Zealand bowlers for the rest of the day with unbeaten scores of 31 and 20 respectively.
“We’ll come up with some plans overnight,” Watling said. “We are going to play the long game.”
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