Major League Cricket 2023

'Freakin monster..spin basher' - Fans erupt as Heinrich Klaasen shows his class with destructive ton against MI New York in MLC 2023

Heinrich Klaasen smashed the maiden century of MLC, propelling Seattle Orcas register a thrilling two-wicket win over MI New York.

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Heinrich Klaasen

Heinrich Klaasen (Source: Twitter)

Heinrich Klaasen Heinrich Klaasen (Source: Twitter)

Heinrich Klaasen smashed the maiden century of Major League Cricket (MLC) and powered Seattle Orcas to a thrilling two-wicket win over MI New York at Church Street Park in Morrisville on Tuesday. Klaasen continued his stellar form with a magnificent unbeaten knock of 110 runs off 44 balls and was the flagbearer of the highest successful chase in the tournament.

Winning the toss and electing to field first, Seattle Orcas got off to a fine start by sending back both New York openers inside the powerplay. Nicholas Pooran then played aggressively and took the team to 65 when they lost the third wicket in the seventh over. Pooran was later joined by skipper Keiron Pollard, with whom he formed a crucial partnership.

The Windies pair steadied the ship for the team as they helped the team cross the 100-run mark. Pooran was dismissed on the last ball of the 13th over for 68 off 34 balls, followed by Pollard in the next over with 34 off 18 balls. Tim David and David Wiese added a few runs on the board and Trent Boult played a blinder (20 off 6 balls) in the last over to take the team total to 194-8.

Klaasen's lone fight helps Seattle Orcas pull off a record chase 

The story of the second innings was similar as Orcas lost a couple of wickets inside the powerplay and it was a fine partnership between Klaasen and opener Nauman Anwar that brought them back into the game. Anwar departed soon after completing his half-century and helping his team reach the 100-run mark. Klaasen anchored the innings by ticking the scoreboard when wickets kept falling at the other end.

However, the turning point in the game was the 16th over when the South African cricketer smashed Rashid Khan mercilessly. Klaasen scored 26 runs against the Afghanistan spinner with three sixes and a four. Orcas needed 19 runs in the final two overs to win, and Klaasen completed his century with a boundary in the 19th. As the game entered the last over, they needed six runs to win and the Proteas hitter wasted no time, smashing the second ball over the rope to pull off a record chase.

Here's how fans reacted to Heinrich Klaasen's magnificent century in MLC 2023:  

Heinrich Klassen MLC