ENG vs SA | Twitter reacts to centurion Klaasen apologizing to annihilated Wood after roaring in his face

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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When a World Cup is at stake, passions run high -- even enough to overwhelm elite professionals into giving in to their emotions. Heinrich Klaasen became the latest victim of the phenomenon on Saturday with a particularly aggressive celebration, inches away from a devastated Mark Wood.

South Africa made optimum use of the flat track on offer at Wankhede to put up 399/7 on the board after being asked to bat first. Their efforts were spearheaded by an explosive knock of 109 from Heinrich Klaasen, coming off just 67 balls and featuring 12 boundaries as well as four maximums. The batter won over the entire crowd with his exploits as they roared to their efforts at every opportunity to egg him on as he struggled to cope with the Mumbai heat. However, while Klaasen did eventually experience a sudden burst of energy it won him no favours from Mark Wood who was at the receiving end of his genius.

Klaasen had raced to 90 off 58 balls when Wood came in to bowl the 47th over. The batter, who had been denying doubles owing to fatigue and looked down and out during the drinks breaks moments ago, faced another stern challenge when the speedster fired in a yorker on the second ball that thumped into Klaasen's leg and had him embarrassingly lying on his face. The veteran took a while to get back on his feet but few could expect what was to follow. Another attempted yorker on the ensuing delivery was dispatched over long-off by Klaasen who was evidently pumped up before the next ball was flicked for four at backward square leg to bring up a 62-ball maiden World Cup century.

As soon as Klaasen realized the Kookaburra was heading for the ropes, he let out a frightening roar in the middle of the pitch, absorbing the moment with his eyes closed and fists clenched. The passionate burst was a sight to behold but Wood had an unusually close seat to the spectacle as, amidst the celebration, Klaasen had ended up roaring right in the bowler's face. Wood simply did a double take before returning to his mark but once the moment died down, Klaasen was quick to apologize for his actions with a few words and a raised hand. Twitter took little time to flood social media with reactions to the unusual incident.

Banged!

Aggression 

The greatest

Apology

LOL

Heat

True

Ultimate Knock

Superb

Unfollow ASAP

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