T20 WC final: Heinrich Klaasen shines with 23-ball half-century
What's the story
India ended their drought for an ICC title as they lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup by defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final. A fiery half-century from Heinrich Klaasen went in vain as the Proteas side couldn't accomplish the 177-run target at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. This was his maiden T20 WC fifty. Here we look at his stats.
Knock
A stunning knock from Klaasen
SA were 70/3 when Klaasen arrived in the middle. He joined forces with Quinton de Kock (39) as the duo added 36 runs. The former then dominated a 45-run stand with David Miller, which seemingly knocked India out. Klaasen hammered Axar Patel for two sixes and as many fours in the 15th over as he registered a 23-ball fifty.
Stats
A look at Klaasen's numbers
Klaasen ended up scoring 52 off 27 balls (2 fours, 5 sixes). He finished the event with 190 runs from nine games at a strike rate of 126.66. Overall, he has raced to 239 T20 WC runs, striking at 26.55. Playing his 52nd T20I, he has raced to 912 runs at 24 (50s: 5). His strike rate reads 142.72.
Klaasen vs India
Third fifty against India
This was Klaasen's third fifty across 10 T20Is versus India as he now owns 274 runs against them at 30.44 (SR: 168.09). Meanwhile, Klaasen hammered the third-fastest fifty of the recently-concluded competition, off 23 balls. Klaasen now boasts 4,649 T20 runs at 32.73 (50s: 29, 100s: 2).
Summary
How did the game pan out?
Batting first, Virat Kohli's 76 helped India score 176/7. Axar Patel chipped in with a brilliant 47 as Shivam Dube contributed with 27 runs. In response, Klaasen smashed a heroic 52 but India fought back and sealed the deal. While Hardik Pandya (3/20) was the pick of the Indian bowlers, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah claimed two wickets apiece.