When Wankhede rose as one to a Klaasen act
Mumbai cricket fans showed the kind of adulation to Klaasen, who hit a sensational century in searing heat against England, they reserve for home players
For overseas cricketers, historically, Wankhede Stadium fans have not been easy to please. Mumbai has knowledgeable crowds who applaud a good performance regardless of which team it comes from, but chanting names is a different deal. That is almost exclusively reserved for Indian players.
On Saturday, though, for about half an hour, there was a different buzz at the Wankhede. A sort that has probably never been seen before at the iconic arena. Both were foreign teams, but the locals in the stands who had donned the hat of the neutrals cheered as if they were hailing one of their own.
And the man who had the Wankhede crowd eating out of his hand was Heinrich Klaasen – an astonishing ball-striker who reaffirmed his status as one of the best white-ball batters in world cricket with a match-winning 67-ball 109.
South Africa were in complete control against England. At 222/3 in 33 overs, the Proteas seemed on course for a massive total. Then came a mini fightback by the defending champions with Aiden Markram and David Miller falling in quick succession. At 264/5 in 41 overs, it seemed South Africa were squandering a great opportunity.
However, just as everyone wondered whether South Africa would be able to bat England out of the contest, the onslaught began. One that saw 135 runs hammered in nine overs. Left-arm pacer Reece Topley was hit to all parts while Mark Wood, one of the quickest bowlers in the game, was treated with disdain. Marco Jansen joined the party and went on to register his highest ODI score, but there was no doubt who the main act was.
Klaasen had braved the heat and survived the middle overs, scoring 48 runs off the first 39 balls he faced. It was he who led the assault which saw England concede their highest ODI total. He hit 61 off the last 28 balls he faced to complete his first ODI World Cup century. Already regarded as one of the best batters against spin, he also reminded everyone how devastating he can be against pace.
Chants of “Klaasen… Klaasen” echoed over after over. It was a sultry afternoon and the 32-year-old, gasping for air, was compelled to squat repeatedly. He said later that he had to dig “really, really deep”, but never gave up. He had left England deflated and the fans acknowledged that they had witnessed something special.
“It ranks up as one of my better hundreds, purely on the conditions that were out there,” the Player-of-the-Match said after South Africa’s 229-run win. “Physically, I was not in a good space, but mentally I had to dig very deep there.”
This refusal to back down has been a theme throughout Klaasen’s career. After being in and out of club sides – he made his List A debut in 2012 – he had to wait a long time before being given a break in international cricket at 26. He hit a 30-ball 69 during his first T20I series, at home against India in 2018, but truly announced his arrival two years later with 123* against Australia in an ODI.
At that stage, it seemed Klaasen would go on to establish himself as a regular in South Africa’s white-ball teams. But the pandemic struck. “I got Covid and was really sick, coughing blood and those sorts of things,” he told ESPN before the England game.
It was a tough road back to regain form and in 2021, he was dropped from the team. “It was a bitter moment for me,” he said. “I fell out of love with the game and didn’t want to play cricket anymore.”
This was the setback that, Klassen admits, ignited a fire in him eventually. With nothing to fall back on, he worked hard to develop his game and emerge as a mainstay in South Africa’s middle order in limited-overs cricket. And this relentless pursuit has resulted in his extraordinary 2023 season.
In 15 ODIs this year, he has aggregated 725 runs with three centuries, the pièce de résistance being a stunning 83-ball 174 against Australia in Centurion last month. In IPL, he scored 448 runs in 11 innings at a strike-rate of 177.07.
In a way, Klaasen embodies South Africa’s intense ambition at this World Cup. Semi-finalists four times, they’ve suffered heartbreaks often, raising questions about their character under pressure. This time though they’re playing as if they have a point to prove.
“This group of ours has been playing good cricket for the last three years now,” said Klaasen. “We've been maturing nicely. It’s our time to really make a big statement for the world that South Africans are very good under pressure.”
