Klaasen stars as South Africa thump Australia in 4th ODI

CENTURION -South Africa defeated Australia by 164 runs in the fourth ODI at SuperSport Park on Friday to level the series 2-2 with last game scheduled on September 17. Australia were never in the match and lost regular wickets while chasing 417 in 50 overs. They were all out for 252 in 34.5 overs. Only Alex Carey played well and struck 77-ball 99 runs with the help of 9 fours and 4 sixes while Tim David scored 35 runs off 25 balls that included 2 fours and 3 sixes. Lungi Ngidi took 4 wickets for 51 while Ka­giso Rabada claimed 3-41.

Earlier, Heinrich Klaasen slammed 174 off 83 balls to lead a South African batting as­sault against Australia. Klaasen shared an extraordinary fifth-wicket partnership of 222 off only 94 balls with David Miller (82*) as South Africa piled up 416 for five, their fifth-highest total in one-day internationals.

Klaasen struck 13 fours and 13 sixes before being caught on the boundary off the last ball of the innings. A run spree of such magnitude did not seem likely as accurate as Australian bowl­ing and a slower than usual Cen­turion pitch saw South Africa make relatively sedate progress on a ground known for high scoring. At the second drinks break, the total was 157 for three off 32 overs. The accelera­tion started with a stand of 74 off 57 balls between Rassie van der Dussen (62) and Klaasen. It went into over-drive when the left-handed Miller joined Hein­rich Klaasen and hit the second ball he faced, from leg-spinner Adam Zampa, for six.

Miller’s 82 not-out came from 45 balls and included five sixes and six fours. South Africa’s thrashing saw Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa equalling Mick Lewis’ record of the worst bowling figures in ODI cricket. Zampa was taken to the clean­ers by the South African batters and consequently conceded a whopping 113 runs in his quota of 10 overs and went wicketless. Zampa went for nine sixes and eight fours during South Africa’s onslaught which also included a 26-run 48th over against Hein­rich Klaasen and David Miller.

His dismal bowling figures were the joint-most expensive in the history of ODI, equalling Mick Lewis’ dubious, who also went for none for 113 against South Africa in 2006. Notably, Adam Zampa’s haul of nine six­es is the joint-second worst by a bowler in an ODI and is now only behind Rashid Khan, who conceded 10 sixes against Eng­land in 2019. Zampa was ham­mered for 113 runs off his 10 overs, Marcus Stoinis conceded 81 runs and Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis went for 79 apiece.