[Watch] Harshal Patel shows 'Spirit of Cricket' for centurion Heinrich Klaasen after taking his wicket during SRH vs RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Harshal Patel applauded Heinrich Klaasen after taking his wicket during their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday, May 18. The development came after Patel bowled Klassen, who looked tired, with a full toss in the penultimate over of SRH’s innings.

Watch the clip below:

For the uninitiated, Klaasen played a classy knock of 104 runs off just 51 balls at a staggering strike rate of 203.92, including eight boundaries and six maximums. The right-handed batter came in when Hyderabad were struggling at 28/3 in 4.3 overs. The wicketkeeper-batter’s knock helped SRH post 186/5 in their allotted 20 overs.

Besides Klassen, Harry Brook also chipped in with 27 off 19 deliveries, including two fours and a six.

For RCB, Michael Bracewell emerged as the pick of the bowlers, returning with figures of 2/13. Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Harshal Patel scalped one wicket apiece.

The onus will now be on RCB batters to win the game and keep themselves alive in the race for the IPL 2023 playoffs.

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“Pretty special feeling” – Heinrich Klaasen after his maiden IPL ton

Heinrich Klaasen scored a brilliant century [Image: IPL]

Heinrich Klaasen was delighted to bring his maiden IPL century against RCB on Thursday. He felt SRH have enough runs on the board to defend in the second innings if they take a couple of early wickets.

Speaking on the mid-match show, Klaasen said:

“Pretty special feeling. Little bit slower than the previous wickets. A little bit of stoppiness from spinners. Trying to keep it as simple as possible (his method). Sometimes I search for flow with my hands, and the movement up and down causes inconsistency. So tried to keep hands as still as possible.”

He added:

“Would love to say we're above par. They've got a fantastic batting unit. If we get a couple of wickets early, it should be enough.”

So far, the proteas batter has amassed 430 runs in 11 games at a strike rate of 179.16, including a ton and two half-centuries.

Follow SRH vs RCB live score updates here.