New Delhi [India], April 30 : Sunrisers Hyderabad wicket-keeping batter Heinrich Klaasen made his mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with an unbeaten maiden half-century 53(27)* against Delhi Capitals on Saturday at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Klaasen produced a sensational knock with the bat in the first innings to take SRH's total to 197/6 in 20 overs. Klaasen stayed until the end adapted according to the circumstances, especially while playing spinners. He picked the length of the ball carefully and punished each delivery which failed to fall at the right spot. This allowed the South African cricketer to shine after a long wait.
"About time I did something in IPL, pleased about it. It was a good team effort, glad the batters played with freedom, good signs to come. We got the players to do it upfront, hopefully, we can take this result and form in the next game. I have to fit in (playing well against spinners), you have to adapt, can't be one-dimensional. The wicket was starting to hold a bit more, and it also spun a bit," Klaasen said after the match.
SRH opening batter Abhishek Sharma fulfilled his role as an opener in the first innings with his blistering knock of 67(36) which included 12 fours and 1 six. The young Indian allrounder also made an impact with the ball as he picked up the wicket of Msh Pandey.
" Back of a length kept balls skidding on, so we asked our bowlers to drag back the length and make it difficult for their batters. He (Abhishek Sharma) has been bowling well in the nets, I asked him to try and spin the ball as much he can."
SRH won the toss and decided to bat first, they managed to put up a competitive score of 197/6 on the board. While chasing a target of 198, Phil Salt and Mitchell Marsh's partnership of 112 for the second wicket had provided a solid platform to DC, however, after their dismissal, DC lost the momentum and lost wickets at regular intervals.
DC lost their first wicket in the second ball without scoring a single run. Bhuvenshwar dismissed David Warner on a duck. Losing the early wicket of the skipper, Salt and Marsh took the responsibility and reached 50 runs mark in 5.1 overs with their 2nd wicket partnership.
The pair chose young bowler Umran Malik to accelerate the run rate, in the 7th over they collected 22 runs.
Salt brought his maiden fifty IPL off 29 balls by hitting Markande to a boundary. Taking their side closer to the win, Salt and Marsh brought 100 runs partnership in 9.2 balls. In the 11th over Marsh clinched his fifty off 28 balls by taking one run on Natarajan's bowl.
With the wicket of Salt in the 12th over, SRH got hope to get back in the game. Salt was dismissed by Markande at 59 off 35 balls. After Salt's dismissal, DC lost their path and gave two wickets in quick succession. Msh Pandey was dismissed cheaply by Abhishek Sharma at one run and in the 14th over SRH got a big blow of Marsh who was batting at 63 off 39 balls.
The DC debutant Priyam Garg did not make the mark as cleared up by Markande at 12 off 9 balls.
Looking good at the beginning of the innings, DC batters kept losing wickets at regular intervals. In the 17th over, DC lost their sixth wicket as Natarajan dismissed Sarfaraz Khan at 9 off 10 balls.
With tight line and length, SRH bowlers restricted DC to 188/6 in 20 overs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will hope to take the momentum in the next match as they prepare to square off against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
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