T20 WC final: Heinrich Klaasen shines with 23-ball half-century
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
