KLAASEN'S APPETITE FOR SIXES

If Chris Gayle was the OG boundary basher in T20s, Klaasen has worked out a meticulous method to become one of the most destructive six-hitters of the modern game. Swaroop Swaminathan spoke to him to find out more...

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A DAY out from Sunrisers Hyderabad's game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, something was amiss with Heinrich Klaasen. For somebody from the outside, the wicketkeeper was striking the ball cleanly. He was dominating most of the six-hitting metrics (a league-leading 17 sixes after three games and the ideal foursto-six ratio). He had also influenced games with his ability (an unbeaten 34-ball 80 helped the franchise score a record-breaking 277).

But the 32-year-old wasn't feeling it. After a decent start to the campaign, two middling knocks (10 off 11 followed by a run-aball nine) had set him back. For somebody who's the closest thing to hitting on-demand sixes in the game's shortest format, going 20 balls across two matches with- out hitting one constituted a crisis. As soon as he touched down in Bengaluru, he got to work. "Even yesterday (on Saturday, two days before the Bengaluru encounter), I had to go back in the net and work again," he told this daily in an interview. "It was to fix the (bat) swing, to make sure I'm hitting the ball nicely. The last couple of games, it didn't feel so great. You always fight those little mental battles."

It worked. Under the Chinnaswamy lights on Monday, the peerless South African went medieval against a bowling attack that had already been ill-treated by Travis Head. Everything disappeared. If it was inside his zone, it sailed into the stands. One six, in particular, took the breath away. Klaasen picked up the length of a Lockie Ferguson slot ball early before sending it back with interest over the Kiwi pacer's head. It kept gaining distance before clearing the roof.