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Former South Africa star AB de Villiers lavished praise on Heinrich Klaasen for his match-winning knock for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium during IPL 2026.

Klaasen played a crucial part in SRH's incredible 243-run chase against Mumbai Indians. The South African batter scored 65* runs off just 30 deliveries at a blistering strike rate of 216.67 including seven boundaries and four maximums, to guide SRH to victory with eight balls remaining in one of the highest-scoring matches in IPL history.

AB de Villiers Heaps Praise on Klaasen

AB de Villiers took to social media to lauded the consistent form and performance of Klaasen in the ongoing season. He emphasized on the challenges that a middle-order batter faces while scoring at will without any fielding restrictions, yet Klaasen is one of the leading run-scorers.

"Klaasen competing with the opening batters at IPL 2026 with runs scored and strike rate, considering the match situation (pressure & having to build partnerships in the middle overs) and lack of fielding restrictions he has to deal with (5 out from start to finish), is absolutely ridiculous! Safe to say the man is in form."

Klaasen's Form Fires SRH Campaign

Among the star batters so far in IPL 2026, Klaasen has been one of the finest. Batting in the middle-order, the Proteas has accumulated 414 runs in 8 innings and is second highest run getter in the tournament at present.

The power he brings to the fore right from the beginning, irrespective of not having fielding restrictions during powerplay, has been a great plus for SRH who has been one of the most successful teams with the other batters performing well as well and keeping the team at a good position in the points table.

During the recent encounter against the Mumbai Indians, his innings came at a crucial juncture for SRH who needed to maintain the flow and the SRH star delivered what exactly his side needed. Klaasen kept his nerve and sealed the victory for SRH with a comfortable margin. With form like this he is truly proving himself as an important player for SRH and with good reason too.

This article first appeared on CricketGully and was syndicated with permission.

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