Proteas star Heinrich Klaasen was one of the big hitters who feasted on the bowling on some really flat wickets during the 2024 Indian Premier League.
Record scores were recorded in this year’s IPL, with Klaasen’s Sunrisers Hyderabad recording the highest total in the competition’s history with a 287/3 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In fact, eight of the top 10 highest totals in IPL history were recorded in this year’s tournament.
However, Klaasen and the rest of the world now face pitches at New York's Nassau County International Cricket Stadium during the 2024 T20 World Cup that are the complete opposite of what they faced in the IPL.
The Proteas had a taste of the cricket in the Big Apple’s pop-up stadium on Monday during a low-scoring win over Sri Lanka. The ball did a lot throughout the match, favouring the seamers, while the spinners also had some assistance.
The Proteas laboured to their target of 78, getting the runs in the 17th over after Klaasen got after a few.
In Wednesday’s match between India and Ireland, the Indians dismissed Ireland for 96 before getting the runs in the 13th over.
South Africa next play their bogey team, the Netherlands, at the venue on Saturday, and Klaasen is hoping for a better contest between bat and ball on a different strip. But Klaasen says the surface in New York is definitely a massive leveller.
“We definitely want to get one over the Netherlands, they have been playing good cricket against us,” said Klaasen.
“The wicket that we saw over the last couple of games levelled the playing field massively. Hopefully we will play on a new wicket — I know there are three of four strips.
“The other strip was alight, the wicket India and Sri Lanka played on (in a warm-up match). It was a 170, 180 wicket, a decent score in America.
“We don’t mind the bowlers get something for them to work with, but it just needs to be a fair contest.”
Klaasen said the toss doesn’t really make a difference as far as the track is concerned, although the ball does tend to do a bit more in the morning in New York.
“Having played the previous game there against Sri Lanka, it gave us an indication of what we can expect, if the wicket stays the same,” Klaasen said.
“The toss is not in your control, so you have to deal with what’s coming your way. It will do a little bit more in the mornings, and with the roller it does get better, but not a lot. It’s still a tricky wicket in the second innings.
“We have got experience playing on these types of wickets. We just need to take some responsibility, because it may not be a wicket that you can just tee off and hit boundaries. We need to play clever cricket and make peace with it.”
@JohnGoliath82
IOL Sport