"Once he was settled, his strike rate increased and he never looked back" - Parthiv Patel praises Heinrich Klaasen's match-winning knock in IND vs SA 2022 2nd T20I 

Former India wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel lauded Heinrich Klaasen's match-winning knock in South Africa's four-wicket win at the Barabati Stadium on June 12. The Proteas wicket-keeper batter scored 81 off 46 deliveries after replacing Quinton de Kock in the playing XI.

Coming into bat at 29-3 in the final over of the powerplay, Klaasen took time to settle and forged a partnership with skipper Temba Bavuma. The 30-year-old eventually accelerated before perishing to Harshal Patel in the 17th over.

Reserving praise for Klaasen's exploits against spin-bowling, Parthiv Patel said on Cricbuzz:

"The way he played and some of the shots he played, like coming on the backfoot and scoring over cover were really great. He played spinners really well. Also, the way he paced his innings. At first, it looked like he was being trapped by the spinners but the wicket was such. Once he was settled, his strike rate increased and he never looked back."

This was the 30-year-old's highest score in T20I cricket. He has played 29 matches for the Proteas in the shortest format and boasts a strike rate of 146.41.

While the wicket-keeper batter dealt majorily with boundaries, the initial phase of his partnership with Bavuma included a lot of strike rotation. South Africa had to rebuild their innings after tottering at 29-3 at the end of the powerplay in their chase of 148.

Noting that the match-winning effort included just about everything in a perfect innings, Patel said:

"Apart from the fours and sixes, the praise has to go to the strike rotation by Klassen. You cannot build an innings with just boundaries. He showed the entire template of batting in this one inning."

Adjudged the player of the match for his innings, the former Rajasthan Royals (RR) player recorded seven fours and five sixes in his 81-run knock.

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"By the time Bavuma got out, the match was far away from India's grasp" - Ashish Nehra reflects on the Bavuma-Klaasen stand

Defending a target of 149, India were handed an ideal start courtesy of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The right-arm pacer struck in each of his three overs in the powerplay to set the platform for the rest of the bowling attack. However, a 70-run partnership between Temba Bavuma and Heinrich Klaasen derailed India's defense.

Opining that by the time India broke the stand in the 13th over, the match was well within the grasp of South Africa, Nehra said during the same interaction:

"After Bavuma got out, the only way India could have bounced back in the game was if Chahal took a couple more wickets including the one of Miller or Klaasen. By the time Bavuma got out, the match was far away from India's grasp."

Following their win in Cuttack, the Proteas now hold a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The two teams will next face each other in the third contest on June 14 (Tuesday) in Vishakapatnam.