Advertisement

IPL XI Review: Klaasen fireworks and Mumbai's demolition job

football27 May 2025 12:45| © MWP
By:Neil Manthorp
Share
article image
Heinrich Klaasen © Gallo Images

Almost there. The IPL playoffs take place this week with the final set for 3 June. The fight for a top-two place will be resolved on Monday and Tuesday and then we’re off into the Qualifier and two Eliminator matches.

Neil Manthorp reviews Week 11.

Best South African: Aiden Markram’s 61 was in a losing cause for LSG, Dewald Brevis lashed a 19-ball 50 for CSK against GT while Heinrich Klaasen’s 47 from 28 helped the Sunrisers chase 205 against LSG.

But he was just warming up. Two days later Klaasen smashed a 17-ball 50 against KKR and a 37-ball 100.

Match of the Week: Yet another week without a close finish so it goes to the Mumbai Indians clinical demolition of Delhi Capitals by 59 runs in what was a straight shootout for the final playoff place.

The home side refused to panic at 123-5 with just 20 balls remaining on an unusually lively Wankhede Stadium pitch and plundered another 57 runs (Suryakumar Yadav 73*) before routing the Capitals for 121.

Best Batter: Heinrich Klaasen’s 105 from 39 balls should make him ‘batter’, ‘performance’ and ‘South African Player’ of the week but let’s spread the love.

Teammate Abhishek Sharma has struggled to replicate the eye-catching form of last season but 59 from 20 balls (4x4, 6x6) was a late reminder laying the platform for Sunrisers successful reply to LSG’s 205-7.

He added 34 from 17 a couple of days later as SRH finished their dismal tournament on a high with 231-6 and another consolation win against RCB by 42 runs. 

Two days after that he made 32 off 16 against KKR.

Best Bowler: Bangladeshi left-arm seamer Mustafizur has struggled for the ‘The Fizz’ which gave him his nickname but it was back as a replacement player for Delhi Capitals with 3-33 bowling at both ends of the innings to restrict Punjab to 206-8 Karun Nair (44) and Sameer Rizvi (58 off 25) saw the Capitals to victory with three balls to spare.

Top Performance: SRH posting 278-3 against KKR. They now own the top four highest scores in IPL history. Quite the week for their opener, Abhishek Sharma, with 125 runs from 53 balls in three matches.

Just a pity for the Orange Army they’d already been eliminated from playoff contention.

The ‘secret’ to Klaasen’s innings, he said, was:“…not trying to hit every ball for six” which was interesting from a man who hit nine of them as well as seven fours during his innings.

Best Overseas Player: Mitchell Santner’s 4-0-11-3 for Mumbai against Delhi was hard to beat but how to compare that with Mitchell Marsh’s 64-ball 117 for LSG against Gujarat?

They both led to emphatic wins; the first mattered, the second didn’t.

Congrats to New Zealand beanpole fast bowler Will O’Rourke (3-27) on his IPL debut for LSG.

Pat Cummins took 3-28 for SRH against RCB and Travis Head whacked 76 against KKR before both men head to England to prepare for the WTC final against South Africa.

Best Indian Player: Dhruv Jurel rarely grabs headlines but 31* from 12 balls finished the run-chase for Rajasthan Royals against CSK in style.

He’s so modest he’d probably give the credit to the openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (36 off 19) and everybody’s favourite 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi (57 from 33.)

Clanger: To all those who believe Varun Chakravarthy’s 18-per-over 3-0-54-0 was a clanger. The KKR legspinner is a proven, match-winning genius.

It’s all about ‘risk v reward’ with wrist-spinners and sometimes, less often than not, the risk doesn’t pay off.

Like when you run into a frustrated Heinrich Klaasen with a point to prove in his final match of the tournament.

Quinton de Kock’s boundary-less nine from 13 balls chasing a target of 279 might be another contender…

Look out for: Mumbai Indians v Punjab Kings on Monday is a straight shootout for a coveted top-two finish with the chance to reach the final in Thursday’s Qualifier game but also a second bite of the cherry in the Eliminator matches for the loser.

RCB will also finish in the top two if they beat LSG on Tuesday which would relegate Gujarat Titans to third or fourth place.

Advertisement