GOOD TO SEE KLAASEN DO IT ON THE BIG STAGE – MARKRAM

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram has heaped praise on Heinrich Klaasen for his brilliant 53 not out off just 27 balls in the victory over Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League.

Klaasen was one of the leading batters in the Betway SA20 for Durban’s Super Giants with 363 runs at an average of 60.5. It included a splendid 104 not (44 balls, 10×4, 4×6) against the Pretoria Capitals at Centurion.

The flame-haired right-handed has unfortunately not been able to transfer his Betway SA20 form to the IPL – until his whirlwind innings on Saturday that included two boundaries and four sixes.

“Klaasy has been in great form. Klaasy plays just one way really and it’s good to see him do that on this stage,” Markram said.

“Abishek did the hard work for us upfront playing some great shots but we still needed someone to finish it off.”

Klaasen, who has been playing at the IPL since 2018 already, was equally elated with his maiden IPL half-century.

“It’s about time I do something at the IPL so I am very pleased about it,” Klaasen said.

He was equally excited that he and the rest of the Sunrisers batting unit can now take this form into the remainder of the competition

“I think it was a good team effort and we finally freed ourselves up as a batting unit. I’m glad the batters played with a little bit more freedom in the middle and the start of the innings and hopefully it’s a sign of more good things to come,” Klaasen said.

“We’ve got the players upfront and need to free them up a little bit. We’ve got a great wicket back home and hopefully we can take this form and the result back home.”

Having shifted around the batting order in previous matches, Klaasen also said that it doesn’t bother him too much.

“You have to fit in where the team wants you. You can’t be one-dimensional so I am happy to play where the team needs be,” he added.

The Sunrisers’ next match is against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Ranjiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.