Sunrisers Hyderabad ended their topsy-turvy IPL 2025 campaign with a commanding win over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in New Delhi on Sunday, May 25, 2025.
Having been eliminated at the league stage, only pride and a sixth-place finish were at stake when the IPL 2024 finalists squared off in an inconsequential tie.
In the end, SRH earned the bragging rights with a 110-run win, their second highest victory margin in the IPL in terms of runs.
Biggest Win for SRH
In fact, SRH began and ended their IPL 2025 campaign with a bang. In their opening encounter, they amassed 286 runs against Rajasthan Royals and signed off by mustering a massive total of 278.
The big-hitting Heinrich Klaasen was the star of the show against KKR.
The South African smoked a dazzling unbeaten 105 off just 39 balls in an electrifying display of power-hitting and fearless strokeplay. Klaasen found an able ally in Australian Travis Head, who set the tone with a sublime 76 off just 40 balls.
The fearsome duo unleashed two blistering knocks that left KKR bowlers in disarray and fans on the edge of their seats.
Fastest Ton for SRH
The carnage, which began early -- in the second over of the innings to be precise -- when Abhishek Sharma and Head carted pacer Anrich Nortje all around the park. And it never relented as Head raced away to his half-century in just 26 balls, his third fifty-plus score in IPL 2025.
Abhishek fell in the 7th over, scoring 32 off 16 balls, but there was more agony in store for KKR bowlers as his dismissal brought Klaasen into the crease.
Klaasen started off with a massive six off Varun Chakaravarthy over deep square leg and achieved a personal milestone: it was his 300th maximum in T20s.
Fifty-five runs came off the next three overs as Klaasen and Head blended poise with power, and timing with tenacity.
In the 12th over bowled by Harshit Rana, Klaasen brought up his fifty, off just 17 balls, with a monstrous six over long on. It was the second fastest half-century by an SRH player in the IPL.
Although Head departed in the 13th over, holing out to Andre Russell at long-off off Sunil Narine's bowling, Klaasen was in no mood to slack off. He pummeled Narine for consecutive sixes in the fifteenth over before plundering 16 runs off Chakravarthy's third over.
The right-hander was equally indomitable against spinners and pace bowlers as he brought up his second IPL century off just 37 balls in the penultimate over bowled by Vaibhav Arora.
After pulling a pace-off short ball through mid-wicket for a brace, Klaasen celebrated the feat with his signature style, removing the helmet and raising his bat as he was greeted with thunderous applause from the packed gallery.
Fastest Ton for SRH
His unbeaten 109 was laced with seven fours and nine sixes.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, the right-handed stumper-batter from Pretoria was retained by SRH for Rs 23 crore (Rs 230 million), the highest retention price in IPL history, surpassing the Rs 21 crore (Rs 210 million) retention of Virat Kohli by Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Although he has been a pale shadow of his usual self for most part of the season, Klaasen exited IPL 2025 asserting his class and showing the world why he is widely regarded as one of the best T20 batters in the world.
Photographs: BCCI
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