Faf du Plessis earns praise from CSA after a resilient knock – Cricket News Update
After a match-saving effort in the second Test of the three-match series at the Adelaide Oval, Faf du Plessis, the right-handed South African batsman, has earned praise from the acting CEO of the Cricket South Africa, Jacques Faul, who believes that the talented cricketer played out of his skin on his Test debut.
JP Duminy, South Africa’s left-handed middle-order batsman, twisted his ankle during training at the end of the first day’s play of the Brisbane Test, which ruled him out of the series. Du Plessis replaced the left-hander in the playing-11 for the second Test, making a huge impression by scoring a half-century in the first innings to follow up with a stunning hundreds in the second.
At stumps on day four, the Proteas were rattling at 77 for the loss of four wickets, facing a heavy defeat. However, the 28-year-old cricketer along with AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis showed immense resilience to save the match for their side.
The player from Pretoria remained unbeaten on 110 runs, which came off 376 balls with the help of 14 boundaries, proving his mettle at the ultimate level of the sport.
The acting CEO is extremely impressed by Du Plessis’ temperament and expressed that the right-hander performed incredibly well under immense pressure.
"Faf's performance in this match was world-class by any standards but to do it on debut in an away Test against Australia was absolutely phenomenal. There is a great skill involved in playing match-winning innings but playing match-saving innings can often be even more difficult," he expressed.
South Africa’s number one ranking in Test cricket is at stake in this series, which makes the right-hander’s knock even more valuable.
However, Faul is of the view that saving the Adelaide Test was a team effort and the other members of the side also deserve a lot of acknowledgement.
The acting CEO added, “Faf was by no means a one-man band in saving this match and we congratulate everybody for the way they knuckled down to complete a job well done.”
The third Test of the all-important battle is going to commence from November 30, at Perth.
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