At the end of eight overs, South Africa were 36 for 3 and needed another 113 from 12 overs at a rate of 9.41. But Klaasen's onslaught brought the equation down to 60 required from eight overs at a comfortable 7.50 runs per over.
His best shot, arguably, still came against a seamer. In the 14th over, Hardik Pandya bowled one full on the off stump. It wasn't easy to get under it and find the elevation but with a whip of the bottom hand, Klaasen sent it sailing over long-on. Two overs later, he killed the contest by hitting Chahal for two more sixes.
What Klaasen's innings also did was it allowed Bavuma to play the anchor's role. The two added 64 off 41 balls for the fourth wicket. Klaasen's contribution in that was 49.
Then Klaasen and
David Miller forged 51 off 28 balls for the fifth wicket. There too Klaasen was the dominant partner, scoring 32 off 17 balls. Given the small target, those two stands were all South Africa needed.
This knock comes at a crucial juncture in Klaasen's career. Before Sunday, Klaasen last played international cricket at the 2021 T20 World Cup. Since then, he has been dropped from the ODI side, and earlier this year, he also
lost his central contract. He wouldn't have played here either had Quinton de Kock not injured his wrist.
"It's a blessing from above that this innings came at this time for me in my career," Klaasen said after the game. "That puts me on the map ahead of international cricket. So hopefully this will just prolong my career a little bit longer."