Greatest ODI Knocks Of Heinrich Klaasen: South African keeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen stunned the cricket fans on June 2, 2025, by announcing his retirement from international cricket.
Despite being in thunderous batting form in recent years, which made him one of the most expensive and sought-after T20 players in the leagues around the world, the 33-year-old Klaasen has called time on his international career.
Earlier this year, he was not part of Cricket South Africa’s 18-player central contract list, and has prioritised playing in T20 leagues as he approaches the last phase of his career.
Nonetheless, Klaasen, who featured in four Tests, 60 ODIs, and 58 T20Is, made a name for himself as one of the most dangerous white-ball batsmen in the world.
Klaasen scored 2141 ODI runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 117, which is the second-best strike rate in ODI of all time (among batsmen with a minimum of 2000 runs), behind Glenn Maxwell’s 126, who incidentally retired from ODIs on the same day. He notched up four centuries and 11 fifties in ODIs.
In T20Is, he scored 1000 runs at a strike rate of 141. Klaasen was a key figure in South Africa’s run to the semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. It was his dismissal in the T20 World Cup 2024 final against India that turned the game.
Let’s look at some of Heinrich Klaasen’s best ODI innings.
Top 3 Greatest ODI Knocks Of Heinrich Klaasen
3. 74* (65) vs India, Lucknow, 2022
This is one of Heinrich Klaasen’s finest knocks because this was more about building the innings and scraping on a tough Lucknow pitch than simply cracking the boundaries. India and South Africa played a thriller on a difficult surface in Lucknow in 2022.
Batting first, South Africa managed 249 runs. They were in a precarious position at 110/4 when Klassen and David Miller joined hands in the middle. The duo put on an outstanding partnership of 139* (106); Klassen scored 74* (65) with six fours and two sixes, and Miller scored 75* (63). India fell only nine runs short of South Africa’s total, and Klaasen was named the Man of the Match.
2. 109 (67) vs England, Mumbai, 2023
Heinrich Klaasen brought out a blinder of an innings against England in their World Cup 2023 encounter at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Batting first, while the South African top and middle-order scored quickly, they also lost their wickets earlier than they would have liked as South Africa were 243/5 in the 37th over.
However, Klaasen utterly shut down England’s window to restrict the Proteas to under 350 as he bludgeoned 109 runs off 67 balls, reaching his century in 61 balls. The right-hander blasted 12 fours and four sixes in his sensational innings to take South Africa to 399. The Proteas eventually won by a huge margin of 229 runs.
1. 174 (83) vs Australia, Centurion, 2023
In September 2023, Heinrich Klaasen recorded his highest ODI score of 174 (83) against Australia in Centurion. Klaasen’s 174 is the third-highest individual score by a batsman playing at No. 5 or lower in ODIs.
Klaasen absolutely demolished the Australian bowling attack with a jaw-dropping assault as he marauded them for 13 fours and 13 sixes! He formed a 222-run stand with David Miller that propelled South Africa’s total from 194/4 in the 35th over to 415/5. The hosts won by 164 runs.
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