Former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has continued to impress for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Gqeberha — It took Faf du Plessis only seven innings to pass the 400-run mark in the Indian Premier League this season on Sunday.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore closed off the week with a brilliant win over the table-topping Rajasthan Royals in front of a packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Having started the week with a loss at the hands of the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, Du Plessis’ Royal Challengers Bangalore has gone on to win two matches in a row.
They beat Punjab Kings earlier in the week and now have beaten the Rajasthan Royals, to make it two wins in three matches this week.
Faf du Plessis has been part of the five highest partnerships of #IPL2023 – three with Maxwell, two with Kohli 🤝 pic.twitter.com/pd79FhPf4n
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 23, 2023
Once again, captain Du Plessis played a key role in getting the Royal Challengers Bangalore over the line against tough opposition in Rajasthan Royals. The 38-year-old scored yet another half-century, a fifth of the season in just seven innings.
Du Plessis, in his uniquely dominant approach, rescued his team when Trent Boult struck a big blow with the wicket of Virat Kohli with the very first ball of the match. Boult returned for his second over and accounted for Shahbaz Ahmed and left the home team in a difficult position with the score on 12/2.
Du Plessis struck eight boundaries and two sixes on his way to a 39-ball 62 yesterday.
Most importantly, Du Plessis built a 127-run partnership with Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and took the Royal Challengers Bangalore to an above-par 189/9. The home team eventually handed Rajasthan Royals a seven-run loss, their third defeat of the season.
The South African also passed the 400-run mark this season and is a half-century away from his 465 runs from last year’s tournament. Du Plessis is making the most of his sublime form with the bat.
The last time Du Plessis dominated the IPL like he is currently doing was in 2021. In his last season as a Chennai Super Kings player, Du Plessis scored 633 runs, his most in a IPL campaign.
Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad make it to the top five leading run-scorers list.
Faf du Plessis retains the Orange cap & Mohammed Siraj reclaims the Purple cap.
📸: IPL/BCCI#IPL2023 #KKRvsCSK #CricTracker pic.twitter.com/S7vzxxJfZ8
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) April 23, 2023
As the leading run-scorer in the tournament, the former Proteas captain holds the orange cap.
