Heinrich Klaasen says a change in mindset was key for the Proteas as they had to adapt to a difficult pitch in New York for their first three T20 World Cup games.
The Proteas made it three wins from three at the Nassau County International Stadium after a tense four-run victory against Bangladesh in another low-scoring affair.
Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller of South Africa celebrate following the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies (Pic – John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock)
Klaasen top-scored with 46 from 44 balls against the Tigers to help the Proteas recover from 23-4 to eventually reach a total of 113-6 in their 20 overs.
The pitch in New York has certainly favoured the bowlers with South Africa bowling Sri Lanka out for just 77 and then scraping past the Netherlands chasing 104.
“We changed our mindset completely from T20 cricket to more like the middle overs of an ODI, just try to gather some singles,” said Klaasen after the victory against Bangladesh.
“You want to hit the ball hard and out of the inner ring because the ball doesn’t really ping off the bat or out of the outfield.
“You have to hit the ball nice and hard so that element stays, but your technique becomes a little tighter. You can’t only be using your hands and swinging across the line.”
“We certainly have never played T20 cricket before where a run-a-ball is good going. It’s still entertaining cricket, it’s very different to what we are used to in T20 Cricket, but the games have been tense with tight finishes,” he added.
The Proteas will be relieved to leave New York with their perfect record at the global tournament intact as they move to the Caribbean to take on Nepal on Saturday.
