KLAASEN REDISCOVERS HIS MOJO, BUT PROTEAS STILL FALL SHORT

A maiden T20I half-century from Marco Jansen and a Heinrich Klaasen blitz could not save the Proteas from going down to India by 11 runs in the third T20I at Centurion.

Jansen smashed 54 from just 17 balls (4x4, 5x6) at a strike-rate of 317.65 to keep the Proteas in the hunt after India had totalled a mammoth 219/6.

The lanky Sunrisers Eastern Cape allrounder brought the equation down to 14 required off the final four balls, but was trapped LBW by Arshdeep Sigh to end the Proteas' resistance.

“When Plank (Jansen) was smoking it like that at the back end, the belief was right up there. It was a tough loss but we can take a lot of learnings from it,” Klaasen said.

Klaasen had earlier provided the Proteas with a semblance of hope after the Proteas top-order of Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks and captain Aiden Markram all got starts without converting it into anything substantial like India’s Tilak Varma (107, 8x4, 7x6) had earlier done with a maiden T20I century.

Klaasen, the Durban Super Giants superstar, had been out of sorts since his comeback after a lengthy break, but reminded everyone of his lusty ball-striking ability through a 22-ball 41 that included four maximums, with three memorably coming off consecutive deliveries from India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

“Its been a lean patch but it's also been a helluva year. I’ve had a three-month break, so it's not always easy to come in and play aggressive cricket, or the style I play,” said the all-time leading Betway SA20 run-scorer.

“There have been some technical glitches but I’ve gone back to the people that I do trust who know my game and understand my game.

“It's still not perfect but a lot better. I understand my game at this moment and know what to tweak.”

The Proteas now head to the Wanderers on Friday for the final match of the series and will hope to level it at 2-2.