IPL 2026: ‘We have learned from our mistakes,’ says Klaasen on SRH’s approach

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive batter Heinrich Klaasen said that the team has learned from their past mistakes of throwing away the wickets by swinging the bat from the onset after they registered a dominant 65-run win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their second match of IPL 2026 at Eden Gardens. Klaasen, known for his attacking mindset, took a different approach in the match when he came to bat at number four. Former South African wicketkeeper batter started the innings on a slow note and didn’t take any risks, while rotating the strike to put pressure on the opposition. Speaking about his approach, Klaasen said that he has learned from the mistakes of past years. He also lauded Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head for giving a good start, which takes off the pressure from the middle order. “That’s the beauty of batting behind Abhishek and Travis, when you walk in, and the run rate is already at 14 or 15, you don’t feel the need to start swinging straight away. But we’ve learned from our mistakes over the last couple of years, and it allows you to settle in first and catch up later instead of forcing it from ball one,” Klaasen told Jio Hotstar. Klaasen played a knock of 52 runs off 35 balls. He hammered four boundaries and one six during his innings, which helped the team reach a mammoth total of 226 runs in 20 overs. He forged an 82-runs partnership with Nitish Kumar Reddy, who also scored 39 runs from just 24 balls and hit four boundaries and one six during his innings. The target proved to be big for the three-time champions KKR as they were bundled out for just 161 runs in 16 overs, with Nitish also contributing with the ball by taking two crucial wickets. He was supported by Jaydev Unadkat and Eshan Malinga, who also took two wickets each.