Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Heinrich Klaasen after Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a comprehensive five-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Monday.
Klaasen scored 47 runs off 26 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes. The South African scored his runs at a strike rate of 180.77 and played a key role in getting his team over the line in the run chase of 181.
Klaasen had the rub of the green on his side as he was dropped on 18 by Spencer Johnson at deep fine leg. The right-hander added 75 runs off 41 balls with Ishan Kishan and he was the dominant partner.
“Hyderabad couldn’t have won this game had Klaasen not played that knock. CSK tried to bowl spin from both ends. The Powerplay had gone extremely ordinary. This was SRH’s slowest Powerplay when they have lost fewer than two wickets. The ball wasn’t coming nicely onto the bat. However, he takes down the spinners. He actually took the risk, that he would make room and hit over cover. That’s a difficult shot,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“As soon as he took down spin, especially Akeal Hosein, the game got unboxed, because the pacers came after that, and Ishan Kishan was absolutely ready for them. The way Heinrich Klaasen has batted this season, the start wasn’t good, and the Orange Cap is on his head at the moment. In this tournament’s 18-year history, a No. 4 batter has never won the Orange Cap, but he is part of that race, and I really wish him well,” he added.
Klaasen is currently the highest run-getter in the season with 555 runs in 13 matches at an average of 50.45 and a strike rate of 155.89.
On the other hand, Chopra heaped praise on Ishan Kishan for playing a match-winning knock of 70 runs off 47 balls. Kishan had failed to find his timing in the initial phase of the innings but found his touch when it mattered the most.
“I won’t talk about Ishan’s start. I will talk about Ishan’s end. He was tired, and the bat was slipping from his hands. It’s hot there, and you get dehydrated. He kept for 20 overs, and his batting came in the third over. The bat was slipping from his hands, and he wasn’t able to hit hard, but he stayed there,” he said.
The renowned commentator said Kishan put the game to bed with his impressive knock.
“He went after almost winning the game. He took them to touching distance. At times, it is mind over matter. He said he would extract something from the reserves and win the match. Secondly, the maturity. He understood that they would lose the game if he had gotten out and left the game on Salil Arora, R Smaran, and Pat Cummins,” Chopra observed.
Sunrisers Hyderabad were able to qualify for the playoffs with this win over CSK.
