"He is giving a masterclass on playing against spin" - Aakash Chopra lauds Heinrich Klaasen's century in SRH's IPL 2023 loss to RCB

Aakash Chopra has lauded Heinrich Klaasen for his exemplary batsmanship against spin in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).

Klaasen smashed 104 runs off 51 balls as the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) set a 187-run target for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Hyderabad on Thursday, May 18. However, his knock went in vain as Virat Kohli's century helped the visitors chase down the target with eight wickets and four deliveries to spare.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Kohli as the most valuable player of the game but was also effusive in his praise for Klaasen, saying:

"The way Klaasen is batting, no overseas player is playing spin better than him. In fact, he is giving a masterclass on playing against spin to every player who is playing this tournament."

Chopra pointed out that the South African's back-foot play is the key to his success against spin, elaborating:

"He is playing extremely well. In the last match, the match before that, and in this match, his play against spin was absolutely stellar. He is playing very well by using the depth of the crease. None of the other players (SRH batters) fired, that is also par for the course."

Klaasen smoked eight fours and six sixes during his innings. He was the dominant partner in his 76 and 74-run third and fourth-wicket partnerships with Aiden Markram (18 off 20) and Harry Brook (27 not out off 19) respectively.

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"Faf du Plessis' consistency is going at a different level" - Aakash Chopra

Faf du Plessis scored 71 runs off 47 balls for RCB against SRH. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra also praised Faf du Plessis for continuing to perform at his consistent best, observing:

"When RCB got to bat, Kohli was not alone, Faf was alongside him. Faf du Plesssis' consistency is going at a different level. We keep talking about KGF (Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis) but KGF have the might. This time 'K' and 'F' did the job and 'G' wasn't required."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by proclaiming Kohli and Du Plessis as the best opening pair of IPL 2023, stating:

"They are an absolute beast of an opening pair. It seemed earlier that Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad, or Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler could come close but it is not the case anymore. This is the best opening combination of this tournament without a shadow of doubt."

Kohli (100 off 63) and Du Plessis (71 off 47) strung together a 172-run opening-wicket partnership in 17.5 overs. Although both were dismissed in quick succession, Glenn Maxwell and Michael Bracewell ensured that RCB got across the line.