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.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis silenced the boos of the Adelaide crowd with a defiant century before declaring on 259 for nine and giving his bowlers a crack at Australia in the final hour of the opening day of the day-night third Test on Thursday.
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.
A superb spell of reverse-swing bowling from Dale Steyn and another fluent innings from Faf du Plessis helped South Africa cruise to a six-wicket victory over Australia in the final of the triangular series at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.
It is another injury blow for the Proteas, who have already lost AB de Villiers due to a finger injury for the first three matches of the 50-over series against India.
He joins injured fast bowler Kagiso Rabada on the sidelines.
Faf du Plessis will remain as the skipper of the Test side and he would be in charge of the team scheduled to tour India later this year.
It's worse than a nightmare but letting the youngsters in the team wallow in self-pity is the last thing skipper Faf du Plessis would want ahead of their crucial game against world No 2 India.
South Africa have recalled top-order batsmen Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen for their three-match One-Day International tour of India later this month, while left-arm spinner George Linde is named in the squad for the first time. The squad will be captained by Quinton de Kock and play the first ODI in Dharamsala in March 12.
South Africa needed to bat for 146 overs to save the second Test but fell just over eight short as a brilliant spell of bowling from Ben Stokes cleaned up their tail and levelled the four-match series for England in the final hour of the day.
Rising Pune Supergiants have roped in former Australia captain George Bailey to replace Faf du Plessis, who was forced to cut short his Indian Premier League campaign due to a finger injury.
South Africa had prepared for a spin onslaught in India but their batsmen were left flummoxed by the hosts' seam attack, captain Faf du Plessis said.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will miss the first Test against England at Lords starting on Thursday due to family reasons, the cricket board confirmed.
It was an eighth ODI victory in a row for South Africa and an 11th win in succession at home as they showed form in the build-up to the Champions Trophy in England in June.
Faf du Plessis smashed a third century in four matches as South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 63 runs on Thursday to set up a final showdown with Australia in the triangular series tournament.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis scored an unbeaten century to lead his side to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first One-day International at The Wanderers on Sunday.
Knowing their weakness against spin, all-rounder Faf dU Plessis said that South Africa are wary of slow and spinning tracks for the upcoming Test matches against India.
Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with a hard-earned century to give South Africa a commanding 205-run advantage at the end of the second day of the second Test against Pakistan, at Newlands, on Friday.
Faf du Plessis stroked his way to a 52-ball 73 but Chennai Super Kings had to wait till the very last ball before eking out a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in a thrilling Indian Premier League match in Chennai.
South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has been fined 50 percent of his match fee after he was found guilty of ball tampering in the second Test against Pakistan.
South African cricketer Faf du Plessis has now reportedly turned the tables on the visitors by claiming that something was amiss about the ball reversing so early on the third day of the decisive third Test at Newlands.
South African batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis are the only candidates to replace retiring captain Graeme Smith as the Test skipper of their team, according to a report.
'Great players go through phases like this and we wanted to get him in the game straightaway'
Chennai Super Kings' future in the Indian Premier League may be uncertain following the two-year suspension, but South Africa's Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis feels the five seasons he played under 'Captain Cool' Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Indian Permier League transformed him as a cricketer.
New England batsman Tom Westley has been promised a debut to remember when he makes his first test appearance in Thursday's third Test against South Africa at The Oval.
Summing up South Africa's dismal show at the World T20 Championships, captain Faf du Plessis said small mistakes like conceding loads of extras in the games against England and the West Indies made a big impact and led to his team's early exit from the mega-event.
'Never would have thought 3-0 would have been possible against this Australian side'
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis lauded his "relentless" bowlers for their match-winning performance against Australia in Hobart on Tuesday and dedicated the series win to absent Proteas Dale Steyn and AB De Villiers.
Faf du Plessis made a successful review of an lbw decision against him before guiding South Africa to a series-clinching six-wicket victory in the fifth and final One-dayer against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday.
Faf du Plessis fell two runs short of a fourth test century as South Africa eased past Zimbabwe's first innings total by reaching 278 for five at lunch on the third day of the one-off match at Harare Sports Club on Monday.
Rising Pune Supergiants were dealt a telling blow as star batsman Faf du Plessis announced that he is out of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League due to a fractured finger, which will take six weeks to heal.
David Miller and Faf du Plessis scored sparkling centuries in a partnership of 252 runs as South Africa beat Australia by 40 runs in a one-day international, in Hobart, on Sunday, to win the three-match series 2-1.
AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis struck sublime centuries as South Africa chased down a massive score to beat Australia by seven wickets in the second One-Day International of the triangular series on Wednesday.
England faced a double injury blow ahead of the second Test against South Africa as Rory Burns and Jofra Archer were declared doubtful for Friday's start at Newlands. South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has warned his team against complacency as they take a 1-0 series lead into the second Test against England, from whom he expects a backlash at Newlands.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
Recently, South Africa were penalised five runs for ball tampering against Pakistan in the second Test in Dubai, AB de Villiers insisted the Proteas were not cheats.
A century from stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis lifted South Africa to a huge 142-run win over Australia and a 2-0 lead in the five-match One-day International series at The Wanderers on Sunday.
The squad includes representatives from seven nations for the games, which will have international status, in Lahore on September 12, 13 and 15.
Du Plessis on Friday said that his team gave India captain Kohli the "silent treatment" in an attempt to keep him quiet when the two teams squared off earlier this year.
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