Pace legend Dale Steyn believes Sunrisers Hyderabad’s victory over Chennai Super Kings might be a “turning point” for the team. With back-to-back victories, including a 10-run triumph against CSK in Hyderabad on Saturday, SRH is now playing well.
Regarding the victory over CSK, Steyn was quoted by PTI as saying on Star Sports, “This victory of SRH against CSK shows that they are back to their best after a slow start to the season.”
After SRH was led to 194/9 by Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, the bowlers performed admirably to limit CSK to 184/8, with Eshan Malinga taking 3/29 in four overs.
“At the mid-innings break, I was having a chat with Heinrich Klaasen, and he told me he felt Sunrisers were probably 10 or 15 runs short of where they needed to be. He said a huge bowling effort would be required to secure the win. That is what Sunrisers went out and did,” Steyn said.
“You could see they fielded extremely hard. They took tough catches. They were committed to the cause. When they finally won, I was watching Heinrich Klaasen fielding at long-off. He turned to the crowd, pumped his chest, and held the SRH badge to say, ‘Thank you for backing us, we’re back in this’.
“This could be the turning point for them now, where they just keep climbing up the points table,” the former South Africa star said.
Steyn, a former player for SRH, also emphasized Klaasen’s consistency and Malinga’s performance in the closing minutes during the conversation.
“When CSK needed to play big shots, the pinpoint yorkers came in from Malinga, right on the block hole. It was a fantastic bit of death bowling from SRH at the back end.
“The first ball he bowled, where he got Gaikwad out, he rushed him with the bouncer. There were a lot of length balls being bowled at that point and runs were flowing. Then, he surprised Gaikwad with the bouncer and got his wicket.
“I thought he bowled well, managed his lengths well, and as the ball got a bit older and started to tail, he managed to hit the block hole. It was a fantastic piece of bowling by this young lad from Sri Lanka,” Steyn said.
The seasoned Klaasen gave the SRH innings the boost it needed in the middle over following Abhishek’s fireworks at the top.
On Klaasen’s batting, Steyn said, “Klaasen knows he has the potential to clear the ropes easily and up his strike-rate whenever he wants. He is such a boundary hitter, a powerful hitter. This season, he has played incredibly well and held the innings together for Sunrisers.
“Whenever they get into a little trouble and lose a couple of wickets, Klaasen is always there, standing like a one-man army to bail them out and get them to good scores.
“He is also wearing the Orange Cap now. With his consistent batting performances, he truly deserves to be the holder of that cap this season.”
After a mixed start to the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad are hoping to earn a postseason berth. Both Heinrich Klaasen’s performance and the effectiveness of their bowling attack in pivotal moments of forthcoming games will be critical to their hopes.
