Faf du Plessis's gallant 78 helped South Africa avoid the follow-on on day three of the second Test on Saturday, but the 28-year-old all-rounder admitted a nervous stumble on the stairs nearly put paid to his Test debut at the crease.
He is ready to accept his fault in the game-changing run-outs against India but Faf du Plessis insisted that South Africa 'never deserved to be in the semi-finals.'
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has confirmed that AB de Villiers is in talks with Cricket South Africa (CSA) to play the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Faf du Plessis, Chennai Super Kings' find of the IPL 5 season, has been rewarded by South Africa with captaincy of the country's 'A' team in the upcoming two four-day Tests against Sri Lanka 'A' and the triangular one-day series in Zimbabwe.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was cleared to play the third and final Test against Australia after a hearing by the International Cricket Council in Adelaide, on Tuesday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Sanjay Bangar believes the inclusion of the experienced Faf du Plessis has added 'real strength' to their batting department.
'A day after South Africa took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Test series in Australia by winning in Hobart, footage emerged showing Du Plessis with a white lolly in his mouth, licking his finger before shining the ball'
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been charged with ball tampering, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday. Du Plessis was charged after television footage appeared to show him applying an artificial substance to the ball during the fourth day's play in the second test against Australia in Hobart.
South Africa have accused an Australian TV station of harassing captain Faf du Plessis after a reporter was involved in a physical confrontation with a team security guard at Adelaide Airport on Monday. Du Plessis has been charged with ball-tampering by the International Cricket Council (ICC) during the second test in Hobart, which South Africa won to clinch the series with a match to spare.
South Africa cricket captain Faf du Plessis expressed disappointment on Wednesday that his sanction for ball-tampering had taken the "shine" off the Proteas' series-winning triumph in Australia and denied he had intended to cheat.
South Africa skipper Faf Du Plessis says his team's batting firepower is dangerous for the rivals at the World Twenty20 as they gear up to clash with England, in Mumbai on Friday. Du Plessis said the team has enjoyed success at the Wankhede stadium and those good memories will spur them on to put up another good show. "Definitely, AB (De Villiers) is in good form at the moment and playing some good cricket. And past performances play a massive role when you come to the ground. As few of us did well against India in the final match in ODI series (played at the Wankhede stadium), and you use that to reflect on and try to repeat that performance," Du Plessis told reporters at the pre-match media conference. He said not only AB de Villiers but other batsmen in the side are also in good form. "Looking forward to see what AB (De Villiers) does for us in the tournament, but as I mentioned we have a few guys who are looking good and whole batting line up looks in good form and it is a dangerous sign for the opposition, it's just about putting together on the day," Du Plessis said.
'I'm back at the hotel recovering'
RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar said the team's early exit despite some outstanding performances from Kohli, du Plessis and Siraj was difficult to comprehend.
Both Jaiswal and du Plessis, the leading run-getters in IPL 2023 so far, are in scintillating form. While du Plessis is leading the scoring charts with 576 runs from 11 innings, including six half centuries and a best of 84, Jaiswal is a close second with 575 runs from 12 matches, which includes four fifties and a 124-run knock.
CSA have however not handed players a final contract
Amsterdam Flames successfully chased down a challenging target of 177 runs, defeating Rotterdam Dockers by eight wickets in Match 17 of the European T20 Premier League. Bas de Leede and Tim David led the charge with unbeaten half-centuries.
CSK has been a part of 10 out of 12 seasons of IPL and have never finished lower than semi-finals or play-offs.
Faf du Plessis was appointed South Africa's One Day International captain on Monday in place of AB de Villiers, giving him the top job in all three formats of the game.
Du Plessis also put on a record seventh wicket stand against Sri Lanka of 133 with Keshav Maharaj (73), who went to his highest Test score before he was the last batsman out.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis defended Quinton de Kock again on Thursday, suggesting Australia's opening batsman David Warner had crossed a line in his sledging of the wicketkeeper in the tempestuous first Test.
A struggling South Africa got their first point of the World Cup after their game against the West Indies was abandoned due to persistent rain in Southampton on Monday.
'In what could be a watershed series, they have also caused a change in the way Australia will play their cricket in the future following the ball-tampering furore for which this series will long be remembered.'
The proliferation of domestic Twenty20 leagues poses a threat to international cricket and the game must find a way to balance both, according to South Africa's former captain Faf du Plessis.
He will make himself available for future One-Day International series having not featured in the 50-over format since the 2019 World Cup in England
Losing the toss three straight times in India has frustrated Faf du Plessis so much that South Africa's embattled Test captain has suggested doing away with the rule in the five-day format.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis blamed lack of substantial partnerships as the main reason behind his side's six-wicket defeat to India in the opening ODI of the six-match series, in Durban, on Thursday.
Faf du Plessis led from the front as South Africa flexed their bowling muscles to thrash Bangladesh by 52 runs in the first Twenty20 Internationals on Sunday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series.
Faf du Plessis made the difference with a match-winning knock to guide Chennai Super Kings to their seventh Indian Premier League final, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
"All lives don't matter until black lives matter," former South Africa captain and star batsman Faf du Plessis said on Friday, lending support to the fight against racism that has gripped the world with renewed vigour after African-American George Floyd's death. Offering his views on the 'Black Lives Matter' movement, which found support in the ongoing England-West Indies Test series where players from both sides took a knee in the opening match, du Plessis said time has come to fight racism head on.
'The confidence and the momentum of that definitely helps. It just makes you raise your own bar of performance, you want to be a better player. My challenge to myself was to be a good player and now it's to become a great player. So it's just about lifting the bar and making a mind shift'
'For all of us it is just about converting and I am not different to any one of those players when I get to 50, I want to get a hundred'
The fast bowler has spent more than a month on the sidelines and was ruled out on Tuesday, though South Africa hope he will be fit to face India on June 5.
"It's got nothing to do with the cricket - it's in the past."
Du Plessis, who was also part of CSK in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2011 to 2021, except for 2016 and 2017, when the team was suspended, was recently roped in by the Johannesburg franchise.
Du Plessis had a tough time in 2015, scoring just 60 runs in seven innings.
Standing in as skipper for the injured AB de Villiers and without pace spearhead Dale Steyn for all but a day and a half of the campaign, the 32-year-old batsman delivered a 2-1 series triumph that sent Australia plummeting into crisis.
South Africa have retained Faf du Plessis as captain of their T20 squad for the two-match cricket series against Pakistan starting on March 1 after AB de Villiers asked not to be considered for the role.
Images from the IPL 2020 opener between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Australia dismissed South Africa for 225 despite another dogged rearguard action from Faf du Plessis before moving shakily to 33-2 at the close of play on a thrilling first day of the third Test at the WACA on Friday.
South Africa have struggled in Indian conditions and not winning the toss in the first two Tests has only made things tougher for them. Opting to bat in Visakhapatnam and Pune, India put up 500-plus totals to virtually bat the visitors out of the game.
