Heinrich Klaasen was the star of the show for the Proteas today, as they overcame a rather uncertain start to chase down 149 on a slightly tricky, two-paced surface.

Klaasen’s inclusion was confirmed when incumbent keeper Quinton de Kock sustained a hand injury and couldn’t recover early enough to be a confirmed starter for the 2nd T20I.

“We were aware a few days ago when Quinny injured his hand, and in the training session, he assessed if he could hit balls,” said Klaasen. “If it became better overnight, he might have played. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”

Much of Klaasen’s approach is about keeping it simple. And even though it may have occurred to him as a pleasant surprise, keeping both feet on the ground helped him gear up for today’s game.

“I just went about my normal training routine when I got to know that I was playing today.”

Understandably, it wasn’t easy to get set. Three early wickets had gone down, including that of pinch-hitter Dwaine Pretorius and the ever-so-dependable Rassie van der Dussen. An excellent Powerplay spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar pushed the Proteas back to a point where they had to rebuild with caution.

However, Klaasen came with a determined mindset, and even though he managed 4 runs in his first 11 balls, he didn’t let that fluster him. All his attempted big shots were calculated risks and when he hit his sixes, he comfortably cleared the boundary.

“Yeah, it was difficult. I found myself struggling early on. But because of the buildup of the last six months or so in international cricket, I decided that if I go out today, I’d rather go my own way. And it was one of those days where it all came off.”

Having the skipper by his side helped ease a bit of the nerves. Between overs, they had short discussions on how to approach the second half of the chase. Klaasen backed his proficiency against spin and relentlessly attacked both Indian spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel.

He was also very grateful that he was able to stitch together his best knock in this format at a very critical time. The Proteas have been known to be a bit top-heavy at times, but this masterclass from Klaasen has solidified the middle order.

“I also knew that the spinners were the guys to target and that’s what I told Temba. And the seamers were a bit up and down, so it was better to take less risks. It’s a blessing from above that this innings happened at this stage in my career.”

It remains to be seen whether Quinton de Kock will be available for the next game, but regardless, it was a priceless victory for a South African team that didn’t quite have a whole lot of batting depth in the absence of two of their trusted superstars.

“As far as I know, the medical staff will take it day by day to see if there’s any improvement [referring to Quinton’s hand injury].