Ranking Heinrich Klaasen's 3 best T20I knocks against India
South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from international cricket on Monday, June 2. Aged 33, Klaasen is fairly young to head off into the sunset.
He was one of the most aggressive wicketkeeper-batters in the world during his prime, and showed his class every time he walked onto the field. Known to be a white-ball specialist who played in just four Tests, the Transvaal-born player scored 2141 runs in 60 ODIs and 1000 runs in 58 T20Is for South Africa.
Klaasen, who turns out for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, took a special liking towards the Men in Blue and scored 342 runs against them in 13 T20Is in his career. He also boasted of an extremely impressive strike rate of 162.09 against India.
In this piece, we rank Klaasen's three best T20I knocks against India:
#3 69, Centurion, 2018
One of the best innings Klaasen played against India was at the Supersport Park in Centurion in 2018. This is significant because he was still new to international cricket and was playing in just his second T20I game.
India batted first in this match and scored 188-4 in their quota of 20 overs. In response, SA chased the target down in just 18.4 overs, with Klaasen leading the way with a belligerent 69 off just 30 deliveries, which included three boundaries and seven sixes. This innings cemented Klaasen's place in the SA T20I side and gave him the confidence and feeling that he belonged at this stage.
SA skipper Jean-Paul Duminy, formerly of Deccan Chargers in the IPL, remained unbeaten till the end, facing 40 balls and scoring an eye-catching 64. Klaasen's maturity, however, caught everyone by surprise, and by the time he departed, caught behind off Jaydev Unadkat, the game had slipped away from India.
#2 81, Cuttack, 2022
Another fine innings that Klaasen brought on display against India was at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha, during South Africa's tour of the country in 2022. In this match, India could amass only 148-7 in 20 overs, which their visitors ended up chasing in 18.2 overs.
Klaasen was the top-scorer for SA again in this match, showing the way with an exquisite 81 that came off only 46 deliveries, and had seven boundaries and five sixes in it. The burly wicketkeeper-batter's strike rate was an impressive 173 in this innings.
#1 52, T20 World Cup final in Barbados, 2024
Undoubtedly, the best T20I knock Klaasen played against India came in the 2024 T20 World Cup final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Although he scored fewer runs in this innings (52 runs) than in Cuttack in 2022 or Centurion in 2018, the significance of this knock propelled it to the top of our list.
Set a modest 177 to chase and win their first-ever ICC trophy, Klaasen found himself on a sticky wicket when he arrived with South Africa 70-3. He then stitched together fine partnerships with Quinton de Kock and David Miller, and later tried to almost single-handedly win the game for South Africa.
At one stage, when he started tearing into India's left-arm spinner Axar Patel, even the most diehard supporters of the Men in Blue would have presumed the game to have gone in SA's favour.
However, he eventually nicked one behind to Hardik Pandya, and trudged off the field with 52 off just 27 balls (two fours and five sixes). Although Miller tried his best till the end, India won the match by seven runs, with Pandya keeping his cool and bowling a cool final over.