Klaasen century carries Proteas to victory over Windies

In-form Proteas batter Heinrich Klaasen carried the national team to victory with a spectacular performance on Tuesday, racking up a superbly played career-best century in the third and final one-day international (ODI) against West Indies in Potchefstroom.

Chasing 261 runs to win, the hosts reached 264/6 with more than 20 overs to spare as they secured a crucial win to ensure their three-match series ended in a 1-1 draw after the first fixture had been rained out and the Windies had won the second game.

After losing four wickets for 87 runs within the first 13 overs of their innings, with the top order failing to fire, the Proteas batting line-up looked to be under real pressure.

Klaasen and Jansen

Klaasen then stepped up, however, and turned the match on its head with a valiant effort that took the game away from the tourists.

The experienced 31-year-old player reached his sixth career ODI half-century off 30 balls and maintained his intensity as he raced to his second international century off just 54 deliveries.

All-rounder Marco Jansen should also be credited for settling in at the crease and taking some pressure off Klaasen, making a valuable 43-run contribution to keep the middle order intact and prevent the Windies attack from getting stuck into the lower order.

Klaasen finished unbeaten on 119 off 61 balls, smashing 15 fours and five sixes in an innings that was put together at a strike rate of 195.08.

“I’m very pleased,” Klaasen said afterwards in a television interview.

“The conditions were fantastic. It was my day today, and I’m lucky it came off. It was good to get the team over the line.”

Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph (3/50) and spinner Akeal Hosein (2/49) were the best of the West Indies bowlers, with their attack struggling to contain a punishing performance led by Klaasen.

West Indies restricted

Earlier, opening batter Brandon King had kept the West Indies top order together, making 72 runs off as many balls after the visitors were sent in to bat by stand-in Proteas captain Aiden Markram.

King didn’t receive a great deal of support, however, and he eventually fell in the 22nd over when he was bowled by Proteas paceman Lungi Ngidi.

Nicholas Pooran (39) and Jason Holder (36) then carried the middle and lower orders before the Windies were bowled out for 260 in the 49th over.

Left-arm seamer Jansen (2/46), spinner Bjorn Fortuin (2/46) and paceman Gerald Coetzee (2/53) took two wickets each to lead the Proteas attack, ultimately restricting their opponents enough to lay the foundation for victory.

The Proteas will now face West Indies in a three-match T20 International series to be played in Gauteng, starting with the first game in Centurion on Saturday.

The second fixture is also set to be played in Centurion on Sunday, with the final match scheduled for the Wanderers next Tuesday.