Heinrich Klaasen hit sensational century as Sunrisers Hyderabad closed out their IPL 2025 campaign in emphatic fashion

We’ll come back stronger next year: KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane believes his side will bounce back next season

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: Heinrich Klaasen  rewrote the record books with a sensational unbeaten 105 off 39 balls against defending champions of the TATA IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders and closed the curtains on their campaign with a 110 run win for Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday Night.

Sunrisers Hyderabad also closed out their IPL 2025 campaign in emphatic fashion against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Having begun the season with a flourish, SRH bookended their year with another batting masterclass. However, their inconsistent middle stretch ultimately left them well outside the four-team play-off picture. Both teams came into this fixture with nothing to loose, with an opportunity to finish sixth on the points table the only motivation. Opting to bat first, SRH’s top order delivered on promise. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma gave the team a blistering start, compiling a 92-run stand inside the first seven overs, laying the groundwork for the onslaught to come. Head was particularly aggressive, carting the spinners on his way to 76 off just 40 balls, an innings that unsettled the KKR attack early on.

When the openers were back in the hut, Heinrich Klaasen stepped into the picture and rewrote the record books with a sensational unbeaten 105 off 39 balls, reaching his century in a mere 37 deliveries, the joint third-fastest hundred in the history of the league. This whirlwind knock, combined with that of others, propelled SRH to a tremendous total of 278 for 3.

In reply KKR all out for 168 runs in 18.4 overs.

In the chase, Narine gave KKR a flying start, but once he fell, the innings lost momentum and didn’t last. SRH’s bowlers turned up the heat and had KKR reeling at 70 for 5, making the chase almost out of the Knight Riders’ sight. Manish Pandey (37 off 23) and Harshit Rana (34 off 21) brought some late fireworks, stitching a 52-run stand, but the game was long over. Jaydev Unadkat (3 for 24), Ehsan Malinga (3 for 31), and Harsh Dubey (3 for 34) shared nine wickets between them.

Giving his honest assessment of the result and the team’s performances this season, captain Ajinkya Rahane shared, “This season for us, it was kind of up and down. We had our moments, we have our chances – and I’ve said this earlier, that as a unit we didn’t play really well. But again, in this format, that’s how it goes. If you win the close matches, those make the difference.”

Further reflecting on the team’s preparation and performances throughout the season, Rahane mentioned, “As a captain, what I saw and felt was that preparation wise, everyone tried their best. It’s not easy when you win a championship and come into the next season to defend the championship. All the teams have prepared well and as a team, we tried our best. What I can say is that we’ll come back stronger next year.

Despite a tough campaign for the bowlers, the captain backed his teammates for their efforts throughout the season. Rahane said, “It was a mixed bag for our bowlers but I thought the bowlers did well. The wickets were really good for the batters, that’s why there were so many 200+ scores, but throughout the season, as a bowling unit we did really well.”

“There will be games when the bowlers will go for runs in this format but as long as the thinking was clear from them, that was important. I thought Harshit, Vaibhav, Varun, Sunny (Narine), all the bowlers who have played their thinking was really clear. So, as a bowling unit, I think we did decently well”, he added.

Assessing the team’s batting performance, Rahane explained how some of the batters’ set expectations for themselves ahead of the season. “Sometimes when you have a couple of good seasons, as an individual, you put a lot of pressure of expectations on yourself. I feel that was the case for most of the batters – to prove how good they are – and that’s completely natural. When you’re doing well, it’s normal to have those expectations from yourself and the people. There was a lot to learn for us as a team this season.”

The KKR captain backed his teammates to learn from the experience and bounce back stronger next season. “It can happen to any player. Unfortunately, two or three players were going through that patch of form in our team and that’s why we couldn’t do well enough in our batting unit. These players are experienced enough to handle this situation and I’m sure they will come back stronger next year”, he concluded.