Last Update on: November 16th, 2023 at 06:27 pm
Australia National Cricket Team star player Travis Head castled the South Africa National Cricket Team explosive batsman Heinrich Klaasen in the second semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, November 16.
Heinrich Klaasen has been one of the top performers for the Proteas in the ongoing edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup. He was forced to walk in to bat early in the second semi-final after the top 4 batters of the side failed miserably.
Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram all failed to deliver on the big stage of the semi-final and were back in the hut without performing well.
It looked like the Proteas would get bundled out for a low score, but Heinrich Klaasen stitched together an outstanding 95 runs in 113 balls with David Miller to steer his side to recovery. The duo batted magnificently well and pushed the Aussies on the back foot for a while.
The partnership between the two was finally broken by Travis Head, the part-time spinner, in the 31st over. Klaasen was unable to complete his fifty and he was dismissed after scoring 47 runs off 48 balls, with 4 fours and 2 sixes.
On the fourth ball of the 31st over, Travis Head bowled a tossed-up delivery on stumps and the Proteas batter was late to get forward. The ball spun past his outside edge and rattled the stumps to leave the batter in shock.
Watch: Travis Head Castled Heinrich Klaasen
Although Heinrich Klaasen wasn’t able to deliver a big performance in the high-profile clash, his batting partner David Miller stood strong and converted his half-century into a marvelous ton.
David Miller smashed an outstanding 101 runs off 116 balls, with 8 fours and 5 sixes, to help his team post a respectable total on the board. South Africa, who at a point looked like would get bowled out under 150, were able to score 212 runs, before getting bowled out on the 4th ball of the last over.
For Australia, skipper Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc picked three wickets each while Josh Hazlewood and Travis Head bagged two wickets each.
South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
