 "T20 World Cup 2024 IND vs SA Final: How Klaasen can counter Indian spinners")
Heinrich Klaasen has been in the form of his life. Ever since the Indian Premier League, he has been one of those players who has not chased the game but tried to shape it around himself. However, in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024, up against India, South Africa and Klaasen in particular will face a tough test against three left-arm spin Indian bowlers, apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh's pace.
Can Klaasen counter Indian spinners?
Among all the batters in the world, Klaasen has the best strike rate and average against slow left-arm spinners. He has struck at 164.6 and averages a brilliant 47 in T20 cricket. However, when it comes to boundary percentage against them, he is only behind fellow countryman Quinton de Kock. Thus, these two players could be key in South Africa's attack against the Indian spin attack.
| Highest Strike Rates v Left-Arm Orthodox (T20’s since 2022) | |||
| Player | Ave | SR | Bnd% |
| Heinrich Klaasen | 47.9 | 164.6 | 20.6 |
| Quinton de Kock | 24.2 | 162.8 | 24.7 |
| Dawid Malan | 37.8 | 159.5 | 20.3 |
| James Vince | 33.11 | 151.3 | 20.6 |
| Jason Roy | 39.5 | 147.4 | 22 |
Comparison between Indian and South African spinners
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Both India and South Africa are the only two teams to have remained unbeaten in the T20 World Cup 2024. This is majorly due to the performance of their spinners.
| Team's Spin Attack from the Super 8 Stage Onwards | ||||||
| Team | Mat | Balls | ER | Wickets | Ave | DR |
| India | 4 | 229 | 6.65 | 16 | 15.87 | 14.3 |
| South Africa | 4 | 173 | 7 | 12 | 16.83 | 14.4 |
| England | 4 | 180 | 6.13 | 9 | 20.44 | 20 |
| Afghanistan | 4 | 168 | 6.35 | 9 | 19.77 | 18.6 |
| West Indies | 3 | 168 | 6.78 | 8 | 23.75 | 21 |
| Bangladesh | 3 | 162 | 7.37 | 8 | 24.87 | 20.2 |
| Australia | 3 | 120 | 6.7 | 5 | 26.8 | 24 |
| USA | 3 | 103 | 10.19 | 3 | 58.33 | 34.3 |
While Indian spinners outperform the Proteas bowlers majorly due to their brilliant showing in the semi-final, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj have done better than their Indian counterparts Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.
| Comparison of LU Bowlers (2024 T20 WC) | ||||
| Player | Wickets | RR | Ave | DR |
| T Shamsi | 11 | 7.08 | 8.9 | 7.5 |
| K Yadav | 10 | 5.69 | 9.2 | 9.7 |
| Comparison of SLA Bowlers (2024 T20 WC) | ||||
| Player | Wickets | RR | Ave | DR |
| KA Maharaj | 9 | 5.96 | 16.55 | 16.6 |
| AR Patel | 8 | 6.83 | 15.37 | 13.5 |