Heinrich Klaasen lit up the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi with a century for the ages on Sunday, May 25, during the ongoing match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders.
After Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma gave the Orange Army another flying start, accumulating 92 runs in the opening seven overs. Heinrich Klaasen was promoted to No. 3 after Sunil Narine dismissed Abhishek for a 16-ball 32.
This strategy proved to be a huge success, as the South African wicketkeeper-batsman showed no mercy on any of the KKR bowlers. He collected singles on his opening few of deliveries before hitting Varun Chakaravarthy for a spectacular maximum. This was his 300th six in Twenty20 cricket.
Klaasen went from strength to strength following this hit, timing the balls flawlessly and making the boundary riders feel insignificant. In the 12th over, the experienced campaigner needed only 17 balls to get his half-century. He hit Varun Chakaravarthy for successive sixes to reach the milestone.
Heinrich Klaasen scored two runs off Vaibhav Arora’s final ball of the 20th over, pulling the right-arm seamer through midwicket.
He finished his century in just 37 balls with his double. Klaasen became the joint-third fastest centurion in IPL history. He equalled Yusuf Pathan’s record from 2010. Only Chris Gayle and Vaibhav Suryavanshi have reached the three-figure mark faster than the South African veteran in the IPL.
List of fastest centurions in terms of balls faced in IPL:
- 30 balls – Chris Gayle vs PWI, 2013
- 35 balls – Vaibhav Suryavanshi vs GT, 2025
- 37 balls – Yusuf Pathan vs MI, 2010
- 37 balls – Heinrich Klaasen vs KKR, 2025
- 38 balls – David Miller vs RCB, 2013
- 39 balls – Travis Head vs RCB, 2024
- 39 balls – Priyansh Arya vs CSK, 2025
Klaasen eventually finished unbeaten on 105 off 39 balls, belting seven fours and nine sixes. On the back of his exhilarating ton and Travis Head’s 76 off 40 balls, SRH finished on 278/3 in their 20 overs.
India
