MISSED OUT Proteas batsmen Heinrich Klaasen (pictured) and Aiden Markram struggled on a flat IPL pitch as Sunrisers Hyderabad fell short against Lucknow Super Giants, highlighting ongoing debates around batting-friendly conditions. Picture: Noah Seelam/ AFP
Image: Noah Seelam/ AFP
In yet another high-scoring contest in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Proteas batsmen Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram failed to cash in on the batting-friendly pitch in Hyderabad.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) posted 190/9 batting first, but it was not nearly enough as the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) coasted to victory in 16.1 overs with five wickets in hand.
Big-hitting Proteas batsman David Miller saw LSG to victory as he had just come to the wicket when he had moved 13 when he hit the winning boundary.
The two other Proteas batsmen involved, however, did not have much say in the result.
Though Klaasen for SRH made 26 from 17 balls, he was unable to really get going before he was dismissed. Coming in at number five, Klaasen was only in the middle for 4.3 overs and after his departure the wickets continued to tumble as his side ended well short of a competitive total in the current high scoring conditions of the IPL.
Luckily for Markram, despite his dismissal having scored just one - opening partner Mitchell Marsh (52 from 31) and Nicolas Pooran’s explosive 70 from 26 balls was enough to ensure LSG always had the upper hand in their chase.
The uneven contest between bat and ball is something that Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has weighed in on.
With just seven matches played of this year’s edition, there have already been three games where there has been in excess of 400 runs scored across both innings.
Speaking about the current state of batting-friendly conditions, Rabada told Indian Express: “The game has to progress somehow, but I don’t think it can just get too flat, like every single game. It would take the fun out of it.
“You know, then you might as well call our sport batting, and not cricket. I have no issues with a few records being broken; that’s fine.