Heinrich Klaasen took England bowlers to the cleaners at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Klaasen reached his century from just 61 balls and helped his side post a daunting total of 399/7. Klaasen was adjudged 'Player of the match for his 109-run knock. However, the middle-order batter felt that his teammate Marco Jansen deserved it more.
“This award needs to go to him (Jansen). He kept me going and pumped me up saying you are not leaving the ground without an 100. He has been phenomenal, has been batting so well. The runs he scored were so vital for us,” Klaasen said in the post-match presentation.
While Klaasen scored a century, Jansen remained unbeaten for 75 off just 42 balls featuring three fours and six sixes. The two batters shared a 151-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Later, he got South Africa early breakthroughs in the form of opener Dawid Malan and former skipper Joe Root.
“One of my best (knocks) ever, I was hitting the ball nicely, this knock will go down as one of my better ones. It was proper heat, saps all the energy out of you. The heat out there was extreme. They (England) were physically under the pump but a couple of wickets got them back in,” Klaasen added.
Klaasen also recalled the loss against the Netherlands and the conversations that followed.
“That loss was a tough one, but we know we are playing good cricket. One loss doesn't make us a bad team. Had some chats and our boys bounced back with the training sessions. It was a fantastic performance today,” he concluded.
As defending champions England suffered a batting collapse and got bowled out for 170 from 22 overs, South Africa won the match by a record margin of 229 runs.
The massive win helped in boosting South Africa's net run rate (NRR). Their NRR of +2.212 is the best among the 10 teams. With three wins from four games, South Africa are placed third on the points table. On the other hand, England's NRR took a massive hit and are placed ninth on the points table, marginally above Afghanistan.
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