ENG vs SA: Awesome Klaasen ton batters England into submission | Cricket

When England invite the opposition to take first strike, they are not simply bowling first, rather they are choosing to chase. That’s the sort of psychological messaging English teams across formats have tried to send to the opposition in recent times. When it mattered, and at the most crucial juncture of the ODI World Cup for them, South Africa plundered 399 runs braving the Mumbai heat on Saturday and Jos Buttler’s England capitulated.

Even Mark Wood’s merry hitting towards the end (43* off 17b) couldn’t prevent England from suffering their heaviest ODI defeat, by 229 runs, after their innings ended at 170 in 22 overs.

With three losses in four matches, the defending champions may need to win all five remaining group games to keep their semi-final hopes alive. On current form, it appears highly doubtful. South Africa, with their commanding performance, have climbed to third on the points table with three wins in four matches.

Replacing the ill Temba Bavuma, opener Reeza Hendricks – he was told five minutes before the toss that he was playing – rose to the occasion with a 75-ball 85. By the time South Africa lost their fifth wicket in the 37th over, the harsh afternoon sun had begun to take leave. The near-capacity Wankhede Stadium crowd was just about beginning to get its act together with the Mexican waves.

The South African fan contingent was having sweaty palms over whether they had squandered the advantage of batting England out of the game by losing stand-in skipper Aiden Markram (42) and David Miller (5) in quick succession. From 227/3, the Proteas were 245/5 in 36 over. Was a middle-overs meltdown on the cards?

Marco Jansen joined hands with Heinrich Klaasen and they began to rebuild. In the next 30 balls, only 27 runs were scored. That’s when something clicked. Reece Topley bowled one full and wide with his left-armer’s angle. Klaasen powered it past covers to bring up his fifty in 40 balls.

Indian fans would remember Klaasen’s onslaught in the Centurion T20I of 2018 – he made 69 off 30 balls – punishing Yuzvendra Chahal in particular. Even his mauling of Australia three months back, smashing 174 off 83 balls (13×4, 13×6), also at Centurion.

Klaasen suffered in the heat, barely able to take the singles, but hung on and didn’t miss any chance to deliver big blows. After Saturday’s knock, he can add the Wankhede to his favourite venues. His second fifty came off 21 balls, the hundred off just 61 balls.

After reaching fifty, Klaasen, a good player of spin, had one over of Adil Rashid to face. He deposited the leg-spinner’s googly many rows over the mid-wicket boundary. In the next over by pacer Reece Topley, he began hitting though the line at will to take 19 runs. The England bowlers too wilted, struggling to figure out what was causing them more distress, the Mumbai weather or the power-hitting of Klaasen and Jansen.

England had made wholesale changes to bring in the fit-again Ben Stokes. A tactical call was to bring in Gus Atkinson for Liam Livingstone. The idea of getting Atkinson to combine with Mark Wood and use their extra pace backfired. Atkinson couldn’t clock anywhere close to the high speeds he is known for. And the faster Wood came, the faster the ball whizzed past him.

The drama in the 47th over summed up which team’s day it was going to be. Wood from a long run-up delivered a yorker at searing pace that left Klaasen on the ground. He took time to gather his breath. The next ball, equally fast, was a low full-toss that Klaasen deposited over the long-on for six. In the same over, Klaasen brought up his hundred with a flicked four past deep fine leg. He roared in elation, although inadvertently on Wood’s face. Wood had given his all, but his hard lengths were not the right tactics. He would finish with 7-0-76-0. Klaasen though apologised to Wood soon after.

In the next two overs, Jansen smashed as many as five sixes off Atkinson and Topley. By the time Klaasen (109 – 67b, 12×4, 4×6) got out in the final over, the sixth wicket partnership was worth 151 (80 balls). Jansen finished with 75* (42 b, 3×6, 6×6) with 135 runs coming off the final 10 overs.

“In hindsight, maybe batting first would have been better,” Buttler admitted.

Brief scores: South Africa 399/7 (R Hendricks 85, H Klaasen 109, M Jansen 75*; R Topley 3/88, A Rashid 2/61). England 170 in 22 overs (L Ngidi 2/26, M Jansen 2/35, G Coetzee 3/35). SA won by 229 runs.