SA20: Faf du Plessis admits they were 15-20 runs short after loss against MI Cape Town

Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis acknowledged that a lot of things went wrong for them and they were 15-20 runs short of par score after suffering a seven-wicket loss against MI Cape Town at the Newlands, Cape Town on Saturday.

Joburg Super Kings posted a below-par score of 172 runs on the board after du Plessis thought that the pitch would play better in the first innings. However, the former South African captain feels the track played better in the second innings.

Faf du Plessis top-scored with 61 runs off 38 balls whereas Jonny Bairstow and Devon Conway scored 43 and 35 runs respectively. On the other hand, Ryan Rickelton scored a match-winning knock of 89 runs off just 39 balls for MI Cape Town. The southpaw scored eight fours and six maximums in his blistering knock.

Faf du Plessis said in the post-match presentation, “It feels like one of those performances where a lot of things went wrong for us. They batted really well, I thought we were 15-20 runs short but they had a really good powerplay. I was talking to Rash earlier (Rashid Khan) and both of us felt like the wicket would be best in the first innings. But looking at it now, a combination of some bad balls as well but it played better in the second innings. I suppose with the nature of the competition with six team, there’s a little room of error. We have to bounce back in two days’ time. If you see South African cricket at the moment, there are a lot of pacers getting injured. Injuries unfortunately happen sometimes.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Rickelton was awarded the Player of the Match for his outstanding knock.

The left-hander said after the win, “Awesome to get out there, I had a hamstring niggle earlier but recovered in time. Last season I set up a lot of expectations for this season. This year something was expected from me. So, to work out and how to play according to the situation worked for me. (On the crowd support) It’s been incredible, to have them behind us is brilliant. We really appreciate the crowd coming out for us.”

Joburg Super Kings will next take on Paarl Royals at Boland Park, Paarl on Monday.