Cricket: Kane Williamson ready to replicate Kohli, Root

Joe Root and Virat Kohli have each played an innings this World Cup that will go down among the greatest Twenty20 knocks of all time.

Now Kane Williamson hopes it's his turn.

The Black Caps captain has taken note of what his fellow batting superstars have done this tournament and is now eager to replicate their feats when it matters most, in a knock-out semi-final against England in Delhi.

Williamson, Australian captain Steve Smith and Root and Kohli are widely considered to be modern-day cricket's 'big four' batsmen.

Root's 83 from 44 balls helped England chase down a world-record 230 runs to beat South Africa in the key match of the pool stage, while Kohli's breathtaking 82 not out single-handedly eliminated Australia and prompted calls across India for him to assume Sachin Tendulkar's throne as the new king of India.

Williamson, as unassuming as they come when it comes to captaincy, possesses the eye of the tiger when it comes to run-scoring.

"I'd love to be able to do that. They've been playing brilliantly," Williamson said of both Root and Kohli.

"They're both outstanding cricketers and have been fantastic for a long period of time.

"When you watch those two bat and perform the way they've been performing you can learn a lot."