Henrich Klaasen discussed South Africa’s tactical shift in their match against Bangladesh, which was played on the challenging pitch in New York on Monday (June 10). Despite winning two matches after chasing, the South African team had decided to bat first.
Klaasen added that Bangladesh’s bowling attack and slow pitch were the reasons behind this decision.
"Third game on the wicket," Player of the Match Heinrich Klaasen said about the decision. "These guys are incredible when the wicket becomes slow. So that was the biggest reason why we didn't want to chase 120. Because the wicket was definitely better than other games. But given Bangladesh, when pressure is on, and they have to go into cutters, they've got some of the world's best cutter bowlers and their spinners are high quality. So that was the biggest reason why we chose to bat first."
Moreover, South Africa struggled at 23 for 4, but managed to use a strategy like you would in the middle overs of an ODI. Klaasen praised David Miller over his performance in the previous match.
"I think David [Miller] showed us in the previous game [against Netherlands] how to bat on this wicket and it's almost a similar way that we bat in the middle overs in a one-day game," Klaasen said. "So, our mindset is not even close to T20 cricket. You just want to get in and find a way to bat at a run a ball. And we know you're one or two hits away just for going over the run-a-ball strike-rate."
Bangladesh’s Towhid Hridoy reflected over their defeat by 4 runs against South Africa, saying that he could have stayed longer in the game. It was a favourable condition for the team, with 21 to get off 17 with five wickets in hand. However, the slow pitch and outfield acted as a barrier.
"From that position I should have finished the match," Hridoy said when asked if Bangladesh could have perhaps tried to get ahead of the rate sooner. "It's difficult for new batsmen to adjust to the conditions. In that position, I should have finished the match."
- Heinrich Klaasen
