Heinrich Klaasen emphasised the dedication and investment of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after his remarkable 105 not out from 39 balls was instrumental in the team’s victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2025. His performance came as SRH ended a challenging season with a resounding win, posting 278 for 3, while KKR were all out for 168 in 18.4 overs.
Reflecting on the match, Klaasen acknowledged, “I want to thank my family, and the franchise. They [SRH] spend a lot of time and effort and a lot of money into this brand of cricket and we owe it to them to step up to the plate and dish out good performances.” He further added that despite a rocky start to the competition, the team had turned things around in the final matches.
This innings marked Klaasen’s first century of the season, achieved with a flurry of seven fours and nine sixes. The innings contributed to his season tally of 487 runs, making him SRH’s top scorer. When asked if he altered his approach for this particular match, Klaasen remarked, “Not trying to hit every ball for six… Narine had a spell there that it was quite difficult to get away and I had to improvise a little bit.”
Klaasen’s ability to pull is one of his signature strengths, although it has occasionally led to his downfall. On this aspect, he stated, “I’ve worked a lot on it. It’s been getting me out a couple of times now. So I had to spend a lot of time in the nets getting it right.”
Throughout this IPL season, Klaasen has been a versatile batsman, adopting various positions from No. 3 to No. 6. Discussing his batting position, he shared, “Look, I’m a big situation player… It’s normally around that fifth or sixth over or just after the powerplay. That’s ideally when I want to go in.”
Klaasen’s performance and ability to adapt showcase his value to SRH. This innings brought some consolation to both him and the team at the end of a testing IPL season.
