After playing a match-winning knock against India on Saturday in Johannesburg, South African batsman Heinrich Klaasen has revealed that a couple of weeks ago (when he was not a part of the Proteas side) he could not even manage to secure tickets for the Pink ODI. Stating that he is fortunate to be a part of the African side Klaasen maintained that his journey in the past few weeks has been nothing short of a dream. Klassen slammed 43 from 27 balls against India which handed his side a much-needed win. Heinrich Klaasen was roped into the Proteas side after Quinton de Kock injured his finger in the second ODI of the sixth match series between India and South Africa.
“It was an unbelievable experience for me and something that I have always dreamed of. I just said to Aiden Markram now that two weeks ago I told my missus that I don’t have tickets for the game and now this,” Times Live quoted him saying.
Klassen also praised the crowd at New Wanderers and said, “The crowd was unbelievable. I have never experienced something like this before and there were some stages in the game where the crowd just went ballistic. I couldn’t hear any nicks or stuff like that‚ but it was an unbelievable vibe.”
Reflecting on his innings, the 26-year-old from Pretoria said, “It means the world of confidence to me. I spoke to our spinning coach Claude Henderson and I said I just wanted to get that first knock out of the way to settle the nerves. Just like last season on the domestic front‚ I just wanted to get the first knock out of the way in four day cricket and settle down.”
“I know I can play at this level and this performance means the world to me. It is better than scoring a hundred or anything like that and I am happy that I helped my country to win an important game of cricket,” he concluded by saying.
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