Sunrisers Hyderabad got off to a flying start after skipper Pat Cummins opted to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. Openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head came out all guns blazing, putting the KKR bowlers under pressure right from the beginning. Together, they smashed eight boundaries and six towering sixes, racing to a 92-run partnership in under seven overs.
Recognizing the momentum, the SRH management decided to capitalize by sending Heinrich Klaasen ahead of Ishan Kishan at number three—a move that paid off immediately. Klaasen wasted no time announcing his arrival, pulling Varun Chakravarthy over square leg on just his third ball to signal his aggressive intent. It was clear SRH wasn’t holding back in their final outing of the season.
Klaasen continued his onslaught against Chakravarthy in the spinner’s next over, striking three boundaries in quick succession. One shot in particular—a clean, tennis-like forehand drive straight over the bowler’s head—drew gasps from the crowd and underlined the South African’s confidence and class at the crease.
The carnage didn’t stop there. Klaasen then turned his attention to pacer Harshit Rana in the 12th over, smashing a four and two massive sixes to bring up his fastest IPL fifty, taking just 17 balls. With SRH sitting comfortably at 174/1 and still eight overs to go, the team looked on course for a potentially historic total.
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The atmosphere was electric both in the stadium and online, with fans and commentators in awe of Klaasen’s breathtaking power-hitting. As boundaries continued to rain down, SRH looked like genuine contenders to become the first team in IPL history to cross the 300-run mark—making sure they ended their IPL 2025 campaign with fireworks.