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New Zealand vs Australia: Kane Williamson, New Zealand's star batter is all set to play his 100th Test match as he recalled his debut game and the 'surreal' feeling of playing in front of the iconic players like Sachin Tendulkar.

Williamson, who made his Test debut against India in Ahmedabad in 2010 was surrounded by some legendary batters like Sachin, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman.

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The star batter who scored 131 in New Zealand's first innings in the drawn Ahmedabad Test on debut, will be making his 100th appearance in the longest format of the game when he takes field in the second match against Australia beginning in Christchurch on Friday.

"I remember walking out and looking around the field and seeing all my heroes. I used to love playing backyard cricket as a youngster, and all those guys were in that team that I would try and select," Williamson said.

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"It was Tendulkar and Laxman and Dravid, and it was kind of like, 'How am I here? I'd better start watching the ball and try and compete.

"It was quite surreal. I remember being quite eager to try and get into the opposition's dressing room and chat to some of those guys if I could." In that match, Virender Sehwag made 173, while Rahul Dravid scored 104 and Tendulkar 40 in India's first innings total of 487.

Despite featuring in 99 Tests and leading the Blackcaps for a long while in the longest format of the game, Williamson said he is still learning.

"Then a few grey hairs later and (after) a number of different experiences over that time, there's not been many days - probably any - where I haven't tried to improve and get better as a player," said the right-handed batter who has scored 8675 runs at an average of 55.25, with the help of 32 hundreds and 33 fifties.

"It's never a perfect journey. You go through so much. The format of Test cricket in particular really takes you through that. The learning - physically, (and) mentally - the reflection, (and) the memories of almost every Test that when you sit down and dissect it, there's so much that you do recall." One of Williamson's career milestones was New Zealand's World Test Championships final win against India in 2021 in Southampton, England.

"The Test Championship final (against India in 2021) is something that stands out for a number of different reasons. But it's a journey, and the highlights aren't there without the other.

"They're all experiences that you value and learn from. To perhaps reflect on a hundred of those, it's something I never could have imagined."

New Zealand are 0-1 down and will be looking to bounce back in the series, having lost the first Test by 172 runs in Wellington.