Watch: Harshal Patel comes up with internet-breaking gesture after outfoxing ton-up Heinrich Klaasen in SRH vs RCB tie
Klaasen's maiden IPL ton powered SRH to a challenging total against RCB. The SRH star was dismissed by Harshal Patel in the 19th over.
Extending his free-scoring run for former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their crucial home game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday, South African batter Heinrich Klaasen slammed a scintillating ton to help Aiden Markram and Co. post a challenging total at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Showcasing his six-hitting prowess against Faf du Plessis and Co. in match No. 65 of the IPL 2023, an on-song Klaasen made sure that the hosts recover from a shaky start to register a competitive total in their crucial fixture at home.
After enjoying a fruitful 76-run partnership with SRH skipper Markram, the 31-year-old forged a 74-run stand with Harry Brook (27 not out) to power the hosts to a respectable total against the Bangalore giants. Batting at a strike rate of 203.92, Klaasen played a sublime knock of 104 off 51 balls against RCB at Hyderabad. In a match where all eyes were on run-machine Kohli, the Proteas batter notched up his maiden IPL century to earn plaudits from the entire cricket fraternity.
However, Klaasen's entertaining knock came to an end soon after the SRH star brought up his match-altering century against RCB. Klaasen was outfoxed by Harshal Patel, who bowled a low full-toss to get the better of the Proteas batter in the 19th over. Applauding the batting brilliance of the SRH batter, the RCB pacer gave Klaasen a noteworthy send-off. Harshal's internet-breaking gesture soon became the talk of the town on social media.
Klaasen's entertaining knock and a small cameo from Brook propelled SRH to 186-5 in 20 overs. Harshal, who bagged the crucial wicket of a ton-up Klaasen, leaked 37 runs in 4 overs for RCB at Hyderabad. “Pretty special feeling. Little bit slower than the previous wickets. Little bit stoppiness from spinners. Trying to keep it as simple as possible (his method). Sometimes I search for flow with my hands, and the movement up and down causes inconsistency. So tried to keep hands as still as possible. Would love to say we're above par. They've got a fantastic batting unit. If we get couple of wickets early it should be enough,” Klaasen said during the innings break.
