Kane Williamson was named the player of the tournament in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 for his contribution to New Zealand’s ride to the final. The Kiwi skipper smashed 578 runs in just nine innings to lead the Black Caps to the CWC 2019 final against England and despite finishing on the wrong end in a second consecutive final. How And Why England Won ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Final Against New Zealand Despite Match and Super Over Being A Tie? Here's What Rules Say.

The Black Caps skipper finished with 578 runs in nine game that included two centuries and two fifties and had an average of 91.33. Williamson was New Zealand’s anchor in the entire CWC 2019 and single-handedly led them to victories in several matches. His six to lead the Black Caps to a victory in a crunch game against South Africa will be etched in cricket’s folklore. Williamson scored 106 not-out in that game and followed it up with another century against the West Indies.

It was also Williamson leading the fight-back against India in the semi-finals after Jasprit Bumrah had run through the New Zealand top-order. Together with Ross Taylor, Williamson took his side to a safe score before New Zealand eventually beat India to reach the final.

Williamson has also been brilliant as a captain for the Black Caps always taking the possible right decision. His decision to continue with Trent Boult against India in the semis was another that stood out.

He beat the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shakib Al Hasan, Jason Roy and Mitchell Starc to become the player of the tournament and join the elite list. He is also the eighth player to be named bestowed with the honour. Martin Crowe was the first player to be given the award.

Rohit Sharma ended CWC 2019 as the highest run-scorer with 648 runs from nine innings. David Warner came second with a run less. Meanwhile, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was the third highest run-scorer 606 runs from eight games, while also taking 11 wickets. Mitchell Starc finished as CWC 2019's highest wicket-taker with 27 wickets - a new World Cup record.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2019 01:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).