New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Heinrich Klaasen’s unbeaten century against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that helped them to finish their mediocre IPL 2025 season with an emphatic 110-run win on Sunday.

Klaasen hammered his second century of the IPL in just 37 balls, joint third-fastest in tournament history. His unbeaten knock of 105 runs in 39 balls was decorated with nine sixes and seven fours that powered SRH to 278/3 in 20 overs. It was also the side’s third-highest total in the cash-rich league.

Manjrekar commented on Klaasen’s performance and his strength against spin. “Klaasen always had a natural feel for playing spin. In South Africa, pitches don’t turn much, but this is someone who’s played a lot of first-class cricket. His average is around 40 to 50, which is very good in those conditions. So he’s a proper batter,” he said on JioStar.

“To dominate spin, you have to be good on the back foot — and that’s what he is. Also, batters worldwide are getting better at playing spin because they’re coming to India more often. Look at teams like New Zealand, South Africa, and England. Gone are the days when they were sitting ducks against Indian spinners. Now you see more and more players like Klaasen,” Manjrekar added.

Klaasen finished the season with 487 runs in 13 games at an average of 44.27. It was also his best-ever season in the IPL since making his debut in 2018. He finished as the highest run-getter for the franchise ahead of Abhishek Sharma (439 runs), Travis Head (374 runs) and Ishan Kishan (354 runs).

Reflecting on defending champions KKR’s performance, former India wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa said the side has a lot of pieces to figure out after finishing at the eighth spot with only five wins in 14 games.

“KKR ended up in eighth position after being champions last year, so they have a lot of pieces to figure out. The fact that they’ve shelled out as much as they have for Venkatesh Iyer and not used him properly — or used him in positions that aren’t conducive to his strengths — gives you a lot to think about. A lot of realigning needs to happen. They need to do some deep work to figure out the direction they want to move in,” Uthappa said.

“With the kind of batters they have, notwithstanding Ajinkya Rahane’s performance, which way are they going to go? How much longer is Ajinkya Rahane going to lead KKR? This was his first season as captain, and they’ve finished eighth. I still believe they’re a really good side — they just haven’t played to their potential. There’s been a lot of confusion,” he added.

–IANS

ab/