I Felt In The Previous Game Things Started To Tick Better And Today Felt Technically Better: Faf Du Plessis

Chennai Super Kings’ opening batsman Faf Du Plessis produced his best cricket of IPL 2021 thus far as his 95 off 60 balls ushered his side to an imposing total against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai. Faf Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad lead the way as the Super Kings posted 220 after losing the toss. The former South African captain stated that it was the most fluent he has felt in a long time.

Faf Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad dominated the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers to stitch a 115-run opening stand. After Gaikwad perished for 64, Faf Du Plessis and Moeen Ali continued the onslaught before Sunil Narine dismissed the latter. Skipper and keeper-batsman MS Dhoni also plundered some hits and combined with Du Plessis to set the Knight Riders 221 to win.

Deepak Chahar thwarted the Knight Riders’ batting line-up by sending back four of the first five batsmen for single-figure scores. Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik were not unfazed by the scoreboard, which read 31-5 and added 81 in 39 deliveries. While Sam Curran’s comeback stunned Russell by disturbing his leg stump, Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins kept the two-time champions on track. Cummins took ownership after Karthik’s departure and took the game to the last over. But Prasidh Krishna, the last man, was run out as Kolkata fell 19 runs short.

We felt the ball was stopping in the pitch: Faf Du Plessis

Faf Du Plessis underlined that it was the most fluent he felt and he took off from where he left from the previous fixture where things began clicking. The right-handed batsman thought that the ball was stopping on the pitch and admired Ruturaj Gaikwad, who he termed as a fantastic young talent. Du Plessis highlighted that it’s hard to bowl to Ruturaj after he crosses 15-20 runs. Finally, he hailed MS Dhoni for knowing what he is doing and feels fortunate to play under him.

“It was the most fluent I’ve felt so far. I felt in the previous game things started to tick better and today felt technically better. It’s just the rhythm of the flow of the hands. We felt the ball was stopping in the pitch. Jadeja for us and the other spinners also get grip [at Wankhede], so seamers can catch-up. He’s [Gaikwad’s] a fantastic young talent. It’s great to see him trust his timing and technique. Once he gets to 15-20, he’s hard to bowl to. For a small guy, he can hit the ball a long way. Lucky to play under MS for a long time. He knows what he’s doing,” Du Plessis told in the post-match presentation.

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