‘It’s just Kane, isn’t it?’

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was within sight of his 23rd Test century after he rebuilt the home side's innings and guided them to a solid 222-3 at the end of the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.

Williamson, who missed the last Test against West Indies as he awaited the birth of his first child, was on 94 at Bay Oval with Henry Nichols on 42 as New Zealand battled for much of the day against Pakistan's disciplined and accurate bowling attack.

The 30-year-old Williamson combined with Ross Taylor (70) in a 120-run partnership to resurrect the innings after Shaheen Afridi vindicated stand-in captain Mohammad Rizwan's decision to bowl first on the grassy wicket. At 13-2, captain Kane Williamson and former captain Ross Taylor got together to demonstrate exactly what that meant.

New Zealand captain equalled the record for most number of fifties by a New Zealand batsman in Test cricket. Kane Williamson has 55 50-plus scores in 82 matches as he equals Stephen Fleming's record.

"It's just Kane, isn't it? He batted very well. It was good to bat with him and get through that initial stage," Taylor said. "He batted all day pretty much, apart from three balls. the temperament, the timing, obviously you need a little bit of luck here and there but I thought he batted fantastically well. We need him and Henry Nicholls to go on and get through that new ball and keep them out there as long as possible."

Taylor, who hit a positive fifty against Pakistan, is not far behind as he has 53 from 104 matches. Ross Taylor departed for 70 as Shaheen Afridi struck again in the post-Tea session at the Bay Oval. However, the veteran New Zealand batsman set a new record as he became the most capped player for the country across all 3 formats of international cricket.

Taylor has represented New Zealand in 438 matches as he went past Daniel Vettori's tally of 437 matches for New Zealand. Former captain Brendon McCullum is 3rd on the list with 432 matches followed by Stephen Fleming who played 395 games.