IPL 2023: ‘Disappointed With Hyderabad Crowd, They Break Our Momentum’ – Heinrich Klaasen
A contentious decision by the third umpire to not signal a no-ball for height triggered the incident
The 58th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants was marred by unruly behaviour from the Hyderabad crowd at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, who threw nuts and bolts at the Lucknow Super Giants dugout.
The incident took place after a controversial decision by the third umpire to not call a no-ball for height, despite the ball seemingly passing Heinrich Klaasen above the waist. The batter was left visibly stunned and frustrated with the decision and was engaged in an animated discussion with the umpire.
The incident caused some delay in the match and disrupted the momentum of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were on the brink of building a formidable score. Heinrich Klaasen, in particular, was looking in great touch before the incident occurred, but unfortunately, he was dismissed shortly afterwards.
Disappointed with the crowd: Heinrich Klaasen
Meanwhile, at the end of the first innings, Heinrich Klaasen voiced his discontent with the poor umpiring and the disruptive behaviour of the crowd, which had broken his momentum and affected his game. Here’s what the South African batter had said:
“Disappointed with the crowd. That’s not what you want at the venue. Very disappointed (because) that broke our momentum. Not a great umpiring decision being made there, but it’s part of the game.”
Shedding light on SRH’s innings, Heinrich Klaasen, who top-scored with 47 runs from 29 balls, pointed out that Krunal Pandya’s two back-to-back wickets had slowed down the scoring rate for the hosts and disrupted the team’s momentum.
“The wicket changed quickly in the middle. There was some spin and decent amount of bounce, there were a few rippers (by Krunal – Markram and Phillips’ wicket.) That broke the moment, it was difficult to play the harder length balls. Need to bowl length and slower ones into the wicket, can’t be too full. It’s not a bad wicket, but it’s a bit slow.”
As far as the match is concerned, Lucknow Super Giants secured a seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, with Prerak Mankad’s superb half-century and Nicolas Pooran’s unbeaten 44 off just 13 balls playing a crucial role in the victory. The win has propelled them to fourth place in the points table.
