Heinrich Klaasen hit an unbeaten 105 as Sunrisers Hyderabad finished their Indian Premier League season with 110-run thrashing of Kolkata Knight Riders.
The South African’s century came off 37 balls, the third-fastest in the competition’s history, while he put on partnerships of 83 apiece with Travis Head (76) and Ishan Kishan (29) as Hyderabad cruised to 278-3 in Delhi.
The total, the third highest in the tournament’s history, was always going to be a formidable challenge for defending champions Kolkata, and they failed to make much of a chase.
Opener Sunil Narine hit 31 from 16 deliveries, but he was the only member of the top six to pass 15.
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Manish Pandey (37) and Harshit Rana (34) added 42 for the eighth wicket, but by that point the match was over as a contest, and Rana’s dismissal by Eshan Malinga in the 19th over saw Kolkata bowled out for 168.Malinga finished with figures of 3-31, while Jaydev Unadkat and Harsh Dubey also took three wickets, for 24 and 34 respectively.
Hyderabad had got their innings off to a flier, with Head and Abhishek Sharma putting on an opening partnership of 92 inside seven overs.Abhishek was caught by Rinku Singh off Narine for 32, bringing Klaasen to the crease, and the 33-year-old raced to 50 in 17 deliveries.His innings featuring seven fours and nine sixes, with Kolkata failing to restrict their opponents to a total they’d be capable of chasing.The result lifts Hyderabad to sixth, while condemning the 2024 title winners to eighth place
BBC
