Stats - Heinrich Klaasen 2.0 hits different

Heinrich Klaasen has turned into the six-hitting machine few IPL fans would've predicted him to become a year ago. They wouldn't have seen it coming even when he hit five sixes in a 46-ball 81 on a tricky wicket in Cuttack in 2022. Or when he biffed seven sixes in a 30-ball 69 in Centurion back in 2018. These performances were too sporadic for anyone to sit up and take notice of his striking ability.

However, there were early telltale signs in the 2023 SA20 league of what was to come later. In a match against Paar Royals in the SA20, Klaasen clobbered six sixes in just 19 balls. All told, he hit 17 sixes in that season from 221 balls - one every 13 balls. In the 2023 IPL, he improved that rate to one six every 10 balls. And he hasn't looked back ever since. Klaasen has been constantly turning the dial on his six-hitting game as he has gone from one franchise league to the next. In The Hundred Competition last year, Klaasen hit 17 sixes in 106 balls - on six every 6.2 deliveries on an average. That average came down to one every 5.8 balls in the SA20 league this year. In two matches in the IPL this year, Klaasen has taken just 63 balls to hit 15 sixes. Admittedly, that rate is so extraordinary that it likely to come down as the season progresses. But the progress over the past year is apparent.

In the last twelve months Klaasen has hit 96 sixes in T20s. He had hit just 123 sixes in 12 years of his T20 career before that. Till March 2023, Klaasen had taken almost 17 balls to hit a six in T20s. He has shaved off 10 balls off that in the past 12 months. Since April 2023, Klaasen has averaged 2.67 sixes per innings he's played. He was barely averaging one six per innings before that.

Klaasaen has become one of the most prolific six-hitters in the past year. Only Nicholas Pooran has hit more sixes than Klaasen in T20s since April 2023, and among batters to hit at least 50 sixes since that period, only Andre Russell has a better balls-per-six ratio than Klaasen.

However, Klaasen's consistency at producing innings where he hits a flurry of sixes sets him apart from his other fellow biffers. Out of the 36 times Klaasen has batted in T20s since April 2023, he has hit six or more sixes in eight innings. No other batter has more than five such innings.

ESPNcricinfo's shot control and intent data for the IPL shows the possible reason behind Klaasen's ability to play these blinders consistently. Data suggests that Klaasen is in control of his aggressive shots a lot more than others, and he is also a lot more selective in playing these shots.

ESPNcricinfo records every shot that's played with a clear intent of scoring a boundary as one played with 'aggressive' intent. Not every shot that results in a boundary is necessarily recorded as aggressive, but every clear attempt to hit a boundary, even if it doesn't result in one, is marked aggressive. Every ball where the batter was in control of the shot or otherwise is also logged.

Among 56 batters who've attempted at least 50 aggressive shots in the IPL since 2023, Klaasen's control percentage is the fourth best. Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Marcus Stoinis rank higher than Klaasen, but none of the three hit a six as frequently as he does. Klaasen has hit a six every 7.9 balls in the IPL since last year. Gill has hit one every 16.9 balls, Suryakumar takes 11.9 balls and Stoinis 10.2.

Batters who hit sixes as frequently as Klaasen does tend to have lower control on their shots. Which is why Klaasen's control over his aggressive shots stands out. Among the ten batters to average a six under 10 balls in the IPL since 2023, Klaasen has the best control over his aggressive shots. Klaasen's been in control of 75.9% of his aggressive shots in the IPL played since the last season. The next best is Glenn Maxwell at 68.7%.

And it's not like Klaasen looks to hit a six every other ball. The percentage of shots he plays with aggressive intent is 40.82%. That's the lowest among these ten batters. Klaasen seems to pick the balls to hit for a six better than others. He manages a six off every 3.23 shot played with boundary intent. That's the highest success rate for any batter to have hit at least 10 sixes in the IPL since 2023. There is method to this madness.