Sunrisers Hyderabad’s wicket-keeper bat Heinrich Klaasen showered praise on Travis Head, who scored an unbelievable knock of 102 runs off just 41 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Monday.
Head was able to hit the ground running, taking the attack to the RCB bowlers from the get-go. The SRH openers – Head and Abhishek Sharma – added 76 in the Powerplay overs.
Head kept going in the fifth gear after the end of the field restrictions, bringing up his fifty off just 20 balls. The left-hander added 108 runs off just 51 balls with Abhishek Sharma for the opening alliance.
The in-form Australian brought up his hundred off just 39 balls, which is the fourth-fastest in the IPL history. Head smashed nine fours and eight maximums in his blistering knock as he scored his runs at a whirlwind strike rate of 248.78.
On the other hand, Heinrich Klaasen continued his rich form, smashing 31-ball 67 with the help of two fours and seven sixes. As a result, SRH posted the highest score in the IPL history – 287, breaking their own record of 277.
Heinrich Klaasen said after the game, “It was unbelievable, that was a special knock by Head, put the pressure on the bowlers. I took a bit of time, knocked the ball around, waited for the bad balls and made sure he (Head) faced majority of the balls. It’s nice to have bowlers under pressure.”
He added, “Haven’t been training a lot, but had a good session (before the match). That fine-tuning worked tonight. We have been lucky, it was a good wicket, just needed to execute (our plans.) Their batters also played well (during the run chase.)”
Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday.
