Sunrisers Hyderabads’ Heinrich Klaasen celebrates scoring a century during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, May 18, 2023. (AP)
Heinrich Klaasen continued to impress with the bat in a largely scarring season for Sunrisers Hyderabad, as the Proteas scored a maiden Indian Premier League ton against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Coming in to bat at four, Klaasen nailed 104 runs off 51 deliveries, an innings laced with eight fours and six maximums. In fact, the South Africa international would reach the triple figure score with a straight six over Harshal Patel’s head before the latter managed to clean him up in the same over.
“Pretty special feeling. Little bit slower than the previous wickets. Little bit stoppiness from spinners. Trying to keep it as simple as possible (his method). Sometimes I search for flow with my hands, and the movement up and down causes inconsistency. So tried to keep hands as still as possible. Would love to say we’re above par. They’ve got a fantastic batting unit. If we get couple of wickets early it should be enough,” Klaasen noted afterwards.
The 31-year-old would receive high praise on his footwork from Sachin Tendulkar on Twitter, “IPL is a mix of creative and traditional batting. Today has been a Klaas-ic display of traditional batting. Klaasen’s footwork has been simple and uncomplicated, one of the best I’ve seen in the recent past. Treat to watch!”
Apart from Klaasen, Harry Brook (27 off 19) managed to fire late in the game as Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to post 186/5 on the board in their 20 overs.
For Royal Challengers Bangalore, Michael Bracewell would nab two wickets while Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Shahbaz Ahmed would also claim a wicket each.
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