Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis was delighted after they registered a seven-wicket win against table-toppers Paarl Royals at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg in the ongoing SA20 on Thursday.
After electing to bowl first, JSK was able to restrict the Royals to 150-9. The Royals were in all sorts of trouble at 80-6 but India’s former wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik scored a valiant knock of 53 runs off 39 balls. Donovan Ferreira and Lutho Sipamla bagged three wickets each for JSK.
On the other hand, Faf du Plessis played a match-winning knock of 87 runs off just 55 balls to help his team get close to the target. The former South African smashed four and seven sixes in his blistering knock to keep his team afloat in the tournament.
Faf du Plessis said in the post-match presentation after he was awarded Player of the Match, “We needed that. Was a big game for us to stay in the competition. Really quality chase that. Tricky wicket. Really pleased with the performance all around. Have to be positive in the powerplay and not have a powerplay of 25-30 runs. Always fighting that challenge of wanting to go and putting pressure on the opposition in the first sx. Has been frustratiing – feeling like I’ve been hitting the ball well, just finding ways to get out. It looked easy at the end, but if you put a couple of wickets early on, it would’ve been tough.”
Meanwhile, Faf highlighted that Royals’ spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman (1-20 in 3.5 overs) bowled well and it was crucial for them to negate his spell.
Faf added, “Mujeeb bowled really well. So from a gameplan perspective, it was about making sure you get through his four overs and take chances at the other end. It was that kind of wicket – looks okay when two batters are in but as soon as two new batters come in, it can be quite stoppy and grippy. I thought we were excellent till around 16 overs (with the ball). Was a bit of a coin flip for me to bowl Lubbe. I thought fingerspinners were really in the game. That over didn’t go as well as I would’ve planned. It’s nice to keep learning, at least when you’re winning.”
JSK will play their last league stage match against Durban Super Giants at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on Saturday.
