South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen has elongated his tryst with hitting leg-spinners for sixes at the SuperSport Park on the back of a career-best performance in the ongoing fourth ODI against Australia.
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Been in supreme form lately, Klaasen flexed his muscle against a spinner for the umpteenth time in the last year or so. The latest instance of the same saw him taking Adam Zampa to the cleaners in what will be remembered as a brutal display of batting for a very long time.
In what was Klaasen’s third ODI century, he ended up with a hard-hitting 174 (83) comprising 13 fours and sixes each. Having powered himself into the record books, the right-handed batter registered the seventh-highest individual score in this format for a South African.
Furthermore, his 13 sixes are the joint fifth-highest by a batter in an ODI. Only former captain AB de Villiers, who had smashed 16 sixes against West Indies in Johannesburg eight years ago, has hit more among Proteas’ players.
Dismissed on the last ball of the innings, Klaasen played a key role in a 92-ball 222-run fifth-wicket partnership alongside David Miller (82*). Already part of the highest fifth-wicket ODI stand, Miller is now also part of the fifth-highest fifth-wicket partnership. Klaasen, meanwhile, missed out on equaling former India captain Kapil Dev‘s record of highest individual score at No. 5 or below by a solitary run.
Heinrich Klaasen Hits 6 Sixes Off Adam Zampa In Centurion ODI
Having already scored 29 (28) by then, Klaasen had hit a first-ball boundary against Zampa. A dot ball later, Klaasen had thwacked Zampa over long-off off the back foot to provide first signs of an impending assault.
While the bowler would’ve considered such a treatment to be a consequence of a potentially high-scoring contest, less did he realize what was coming his way. Kick-starting the third powerplay in an authoritative manner, Klaasen deposited a rank short ball from Zampa out of the ground.
In the following Zampa over, Klaasen hit another mammoth maximum off one of the leading leg-spinners around the world. Having said that, the 32-year old player had saved his best for the last. Asked to bowl the 48th over by captain Mitchell Marsh, Zampa leaked as many as 26 runs.
Speaking particularly off Klaasen, he managed to clear the fence as many as three times in this over. Having successfully targeted the long-on, long-off and mid-wicket areas of the stadium, Klaasen pulled off an individual half-century against Zampa off just 17 deliveries. Klaasen, who batted at a strike rate of 209.63 today, attacked the lone Australian spinner at 294.11!
If the above mentioned wasn’t already enough for Zampa to have a forgettable outing, his bowling figures of 10-0-113-0 have propelled him to the top of an infamous record. Only the second bowler to concede runs at an economy rate of 11.3 in a 10-over spell, the 31-year old player has joined Mick Lewis, who had also registered the exact same figures in an ODI against the same opposition in the same country 17 years ago.
Heinrich Klaasen Had Hit 5 Sixes Off Yuzvendra Chahal In Centurion T20I
For the unversed, Klaasen had singled out another leg-spinner named Yuzvendra Chahal in what was a coming-of-age knock for him at the highest level. Two out of the nine white-ball matches which South Africa had won against India 67 months ago, it had been majorly made possible on the back of Klaasen’s maiden T20I half-century at the same venue.
Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the last over of the powerplay of a 189-run chase, Klaasen had amassed 69 (30) including three fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 230 in a winning cause in Centurion.
It was only on the second delivery of his spell that Chahal was hit for a comprehensive six over long-on. Introduced into the attack to begin the second half of the innings after a one-over first spell, Chahal witnessed no change in Klaasen’s conduct towards him.
In what was a rare sight, Klaasen hit the leg-spinner for two sixes over the cover and point region. The second one, coming in the form of a switch-hit, was a sheer combination of power, timing and innovation.
Interestingly, nothing changed in Chahal’s next over as Klaasen begun the 13th over with a couple of sixes and a four. While both the sixes had come on the leg-side, the following boundary was an innovative ramp over short third-man.
As far as Klaasen’s strike rate against Chahal in that match was concerned, he had scored 41 (12) at 341.66!
