Klaasen chasing silverware again after disappointing year in finals

Sunday’s T20 Challenge final at the Wanderers will be the fourth championship match in which Heinrich Klaasen has played this year, and he is desperate to create a different ending than the other three. 

Klaasen, arguably the world’s best limited overs batter in the last two years, will lead a star-laden Momentum Multiply Titans side that is hoping to wrest the crown the DP World Lions claimed last summer in the first domestic final of the 2024/25 season. 

For Klaasen, 2024 has been a year of opportunity, but also pain. He’s been part of teams that have featured in the finals of the SA20, IPL and T20 World Cup, but on each occasion he’s watched the opposition lift the trophy. 

“It’s not ideal,” he remarked. “In two of those finals I didn’t really play well.”

The first was the defeat in February in the SA20 decider, where he made a duck for the Durban Super Giants in their loss to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. A few months later he scored 17 for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL final against Kolkata Knight Riders and then his 52 in the World Cup final wasn’t enough to prevent a narrow defeat to India in Barbados.

“It’s been frustrating, the team is playing good cricket, we have enough match winners and hopefully I can pull my weight and help the team to lift some silverware,” Klaasen.

It’s not just Klaasen who is desperate to stand in the winner's circle. The Titans are aiming to secure a title for the first time in two seasons, something the union is unaccustomed to. 

“We are a very proud franchise that demands winning trophies — it's the only way we measure success,” Klaasen explained.

“Sunday is a big game for us, we haven’t had silverware for a few seasons, and it’s the only goal for us.”

It’s the Lions who have been chiefly responsible for knocking the Titans off their pedestal in recent seasons. After years of administrative infighting which affected the changeroom, the Central Gauteng union, has turned their ship around dramatically, attaining stability in the boardroom, leading to tie-ups with a plethora of commercial partners, which have been allied to success on the field. 

A coaching staff headed up by Russell Domingo, featuring Allan Donald and Hashim Amla, oversees a massive playing group that has regularly supplied players for the Proteas, while building a winning team on the domestic front. 

Last season they won two titles, including the T20 Challenge, but their captain, Bjorn Fortuin, says winning on Sunday, would be deeply meaningful. 

“Last season’s trophy was different. There was a lot of expectation, because of our personnel — we had a lot more Proteas at our disposal, even KG (Rabada) played two games for us at the start of the tournament. We had a star-studded batting line-up,” said Fortuin.

“This season has been more challenging, our personnel has changed more than it did last season, there’s more inexperienced players in the squad. A lot of players are trying to prove to the public, media, national selectors and to themselves that they belong at this level. If we can pull this off, it will give the boys a lot of vindication that they are good enough, and that they are destined for bigger and better things.”

There is enough international talent on both sides that should make for an intriguing match. The Titans have Klaasen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Gerald Coetzee and Andile Phehlukwayo up against a Lions side featuring Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks and Fortuin for the Lions. Throw in young talent like Lions pair Kwena Maphaka and Nqaba Peter, who both made their Proteas debut earlier this year and the Titans’s explosive opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius, and the final has all the ingredients for a tasty afternoon at the Wanderers. 

The match starts at 2pm. Tickets are available through cricket.co.za or at the gate.