Finishing a T20 game is not always about instant power. Sometimes, it is about patience, clarity and the courage to sit with discomfort until the game turns. Nadine de Klerk showed exactly that in a gripping WPL thriller, an innings that will be remembered not just for the runs scored, but for how they were scored.
De Klerk’s knock was a masterclass in temperament. She did not begin fluently. The timing was not there. The middle of the bat stayed elusive. Chances went down. Frustration crept in. And she admitted as much.
“I was probably a little frustrated, to be honest, at the beginning of my innings. I really struggled to get it away,” she said at the presentation ceremony.
Many batters panic at that stage. Finishers, especially, are expected to go hard early. De Klerk did the opposite. She stayed. She trusted the process. As she put it, “cricket is a funny game. You just have to stay in the fight.”
That line defined her innings.
Putting a price on the wicket
De Klerk repeatedly stressed mindset over muscle.
“It’s just kind of sticking to my strengths. Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t.”
In T20 cricket, where impatience is often rewarded more than resilience, she chose to “give myself a chance”. She refused to throw her wicket away simply because the ball was not coming on.
“It was just about giving myself a chance out there, and luckily it came off today.”
That decision, to bat deep, is the cornerstone of finishing. Not every ball needs to disappear. What matters is being there when it matters most.
Partnerships that changed the game
While De Klerk took the bulk of responsibility at the back end, she was quick to highlight the importance of partnerships.
“There were a few very important partnerships earlier.”
She singled out Arundhati Reddy, who “batted beautifully”, and Prema Rawat, whose timely boundaries “took a little bit of pressure off me, which made my life a little easier”.
Numbers may not always reflect impact, but momentum does. Those partnerships allowed De Klerk to reset, breathe and prepare for the decisive phase.
The straight-bat threat: why De Klerk is different
What truly sets Nadine de Klerk apart from many power hitters is her ability to score heavily with a straight bat. On the night, her most productive shot was the off drive, a classical stroke that thrives under pressure.
She scored 19 runs through the off drive, 18 of them in boundaries.
This matters. Clearing the cow corner is impressive, but clearing the boundary in the V, straight and through the off side, makes a batter pitch-proof. If you can hit straight, you can dominate on any surface. That is why De Klerk is not just powerful, but dangerous.
Owning the finish
As the game tightened, De Klerk’s thinking became even clearer.
“Probably towards the back end I was thinking about taking the bulk of the strike.”
In the final over, she backed herself completely. She did not look for the easy single. She did not defer responsibility. “I was probably going to try and keep it to myself and try and win us that game.”
That is finishing in its purest form, faith in preparation, clarity under pressure and the nerve to stay present till the last ball.
A lesson for young finishers
Nadine de Klerk’s innings is a reminder that finishing is not reckless hitting. It is controlled aggression, emotional regulation and belief.
“Never give up. T20 cricket especially… you know you can cash in.”
But only if you are still there.
In staying in the fight, trusting her strengths and striking straight when it mattered most, Nadine de Klerk did not just win a match. She delivered a textbook on the art of finishing, one patient, powerful off drive at a time.
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