Harshal Patel's Glorious Gesture After Dismissing Centurion Heinrich Klaasen is Full of Class

Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen came up with a sensational performance to bring up his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) century against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday.

The South Africa international walloped eight boundaries and six sixes to guide Hyderabad to a comfortable total of 186. Klaasen’s brilliance with the bat, quite understandably, enthralled fans and spectators present at the Uppal Stadium but there was another moment during the Hyderabad innings which seemed to stand out.

Bangalore pacer Harshal Patel’s dipping yorker did the trick in the penultimate over as Klaasen failed to judge the exact pace of the delivery. As a result, the ball went on to clean the wickets up. Following Klaasen’s dismissal, Harshal was seen applauding the Hyderabad wicketkeeper. Harshal’s heart-warming gesture became a big talking point on social media.

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Former Bangalore cricketer and South Africa international AB de Villiers was totally impressed with Harshal Patel’s act. “Absolutely love Harshal Patel’s sportsmanship there. That’s what the game is all about! Giving Klaassen a clap to say well played,” De Villiers tweeted.

After completing his four overs last night, Harshal Patel scripted figures of 1/37. The target of 187, however, did not bother Bangalore much as the Faf du Plessis-led side scored the winning runs comfortably.

Virat Kohli notched up a phenomenal century to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a convincing eight-wicket victory. Kohli and Bangalore skipper Faf stitched an opening partnership of 172 to set up a solid foundation for their side. Following the game, Harshal Patel was in full praise of Kohli.

“When he gets going, it’s sort of hard to bowl to him. That’s a sign of a great player. I don’t need to sit here and say he is a great player, everyone knows that. Just by playing cricketing shots, not by doing anything fancy. The way he takes on the bowlers, even on a slowish pitch like this. The kind of shots he played, the kind of sixes that he hit. He’s obviously not a power hitter. But the timing part of his batting is just incredible. His ability to keep going for 20 overs, without getting tired, taking so many twos. Even on the field, he is always buzzing, he is going from long-off to long-on in the last five overs,” Harshal reportedly said after the game.

After claiming 14 points from seven matches, Bangalore now find themselves in the fourth spot in IPL 2023 standings. In their last league game of the season, Bangalore will be up against IPL 2022 winners Gujarat Titans on Sunday.