'To sneak past Kohli and Smith is surprising and humbling' - Kane Williamson reacts to No. 1 Test ranking

Reacting to becoming the No.1 ranked Test batsman as per the latest ICC Test rankings, Kane Williamson said that he was surprised as well as humbled at having achieved the feat.

The New Zealand skipper went past two other modern-day legends - Virat Kohli and Steve Smith - to end 2020 on top of the Test rankings.

In a video interview to ICC, Kane Williamson lavished praised on both his contemporaries, describing them as ‘the best’. He stated:

“Those two players (Kohli and Smith) are the best. For me to sneak up in some way is very surprising and humbling. Year in and year out, those two players in all formats are moving the game forward. Real fortunate to be playing against these guys.”

Speaking about the path he took to reach the top, Kane Williamson played down the achievement and instead put it down to the effort of the entire team. He added:

“It’s very much (about) trying to do as much as you can for the team. I do see some of those individual rankings driven by efforts of so many other players or the XI that we want go to in (with). If you can be contributing as much as you can, and it can be reflected on the rankings, that's really cool. (Our) team is driven to move each other forward and give to one another.”

💬 "It's about trying to do as much as you can for the team. If you can contribute as much as you can and it can be reflected on the rankings, that's really cool."📽️ WATCH: The new World No.1 in Tests reacts to the latest ICC Rankings update 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qIAZTrPdTS

— ICC (@ICC) December 31, 2020

On wickets that are doing a bit, you need some luck: Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson also said that playing on some of the wickets in New Zealand was a challenge, as the ball can do a lot. He stated that luck does come into play, admitting that things had gone his way over the last few Tests.

“On some of those wickets that are doing a bit, you are going to get some good balls and hopefully if things go your way… So it was nice as that was the case. (The aim is) to build partnerships with your mate at the other end. It has been most satisfying working hard together and we have seen a number of really valuable partnerships throughout those last few Tests on wickets that have been sporting.”

🚨 NEW NUMBER 1 🚨Kane Williamson overtakes Steve Smith and Virat Kohli to become the No.1 in the @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Rankings for batting 🙌Latest rankings ➜ https://t.co/OMjjVx5Mgf pic.twitter.com/jy5o2qgoKn

— ICC (@ICC) December 31, 2020

Kane Williamson hit 129 and 21 in the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan to go on top of the ICC Test rankings.

The 30-year-old was named man of the match as New Zealand staved off Pakistan's stubborn resistance in the second innings, winning the Test by 101 runs.