Heinrich Klaasen is not "where I want to be" but feels "a lot better" after SuperSport Park 22-ball 41

Proteas middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen has finally gotten his groove back with a magnificent innings against India in Centurion after enduring a lean patch upon his return to competitive cricket.

GETTING BACK TO FORM

Heinrich Klaasen is human despite having dominated white ball cricket in the green and gold of South Africa and in the T20 leagues around the world.

The 33-year-old has been unchallenged in his status as the world's most destructive middle-order batter and his price tag in the recently retained Indian Premier League players is a testament to the value that he provides.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad coughed up a whooping R40 Million to retain the South African batter, however, since returning from a two-month break, the batters have been out of touch.

In the eight innings that he's had since the Major League Cricket in July, the right-handed batter has reached the half-century mark once during a domestic T20 competition at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.com, Klaasen admitted that he felt out of touch even in that unbeaten 71 that he scored in the local domestic match.

"Even in that first knock, I felt way out of my depth as well in that first 20 balls," said Klaasen.

The 33-year-old seemed to have changed his form around when he smoked four sixes in the third T20I against India at SuperSport Park earlier this week.

Klaasen emphasised that it hasn't been easy coming back to competitive cricket after a long break, that he had to lean to his coaches and mentors to find his groove again and that playing at home in Centurion also played a hand in his 22-ball 41.

"It's the best place in the world to play cricket. It was jam-packed so you can't ask for a better crowd at SuperSport Park," Klaasen explained the feeling of playing at his home ground.

"It's been a lean run but it's also been a hell of a year. After a two-to-three months break, it's not that easy in this format especially to come in and play aggressive cricket and the style I play to find some form instantly.

"There were some technical glitches and once again I just went back to the people that I do trust and that know my game very well and I felt a lot better tonight. I'm still not perfect and not where I want to be but it's a lot better.

"I know and I understand my game at the moment which is very nice and I'm in a fortunate position to understand my game and know where to tweak.

"I'm very thankful for the people who know my game well to help me out of a little bit of a dip. Also, I don't look into that too much because it's been a long and tough year. It was still a fantastic year for me."

POSITIVES FROM THE 3RD T20I LOSS

South Africa lost what was a nail-biting encounter in SuperSport against India as they fell 11 runs shy of chasing a mammoth 220, a target that would have been the third-highest successful T20I chase at SuperSport Park.

Klaasen reiterated the pain of the loss but also acknowledged the positives they take out of a game of that nature.

"There's a lot of positives (to take) out of this game. Chasing 220, it's never going to look pretty and it's always going to be a big task," said Klaasen.

"We've done it before here where we chased 259 (vs West Indies) so the confidence was up and even when Planky at the back end started to smoke the belief was still up there.

"It's a tough loss but there's a lot of positives and learnings that we can take out of this game."

With India leading the four-match series 2-1, Klaasen and his teammates head to the Wanderers Stadium looking for a series-levelling victory to wrap up the series.