Faf du Plessis beats Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid for best Test innings in Australia

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis finds himself at top of an exclusive top 20 club churned out by cricket.com.au. To commemorate start of a new decade, website recently chronicled top 20 batting efforts witnessed ‘Down Under’ between years 2000 and 2020. right-handed batsman, who plays for CSK in IPL, pipped likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting to be placed at .1 as he became fourth South African to feature in elite club of batting brilliance.

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Faf du Plessis’ match-saving 110* tops Cricket Australia’s ‘Top 20 in 2020’ batting list

In vember 2012, South African cricket team toured Australia for a three-match Test series. While first Test ended in a draw, n Australian captain Michael Clarke won toss in second Test and opted to bat first at Adelaide Oval. On back of Clarke’s heroic 230, home side compiled 550 in ir first innings. Australia secured a 162-run lead which y furr extended to leave South Africa an imposing target of 430.

However, Proteas took a cautious effort as y went ahead and grinded out 148 overs to secure a memorable draw. Faf du Plessis, in his Test debut itself, scored a fighting 110* off 376 balls. He occupied 466 minutes at crease and defied likes of Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon, who bowled 83 overs between m. Earlier, Faf du Plessis also scored 78 runs in first-innings to back up his match-saving recital.

It is believed that Faf had philosophy of 'I will die but you can't ever get my wicket' in that innings, something which he made public as well in a post-match interaction after his successful innings.

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Faf du Plessis’ match-saving 110* caps off dream debut, watch video

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Cricket Australia’s ‘Top 20 in 2020’

Apart from Faf du Plessis, premier Australian batsman Michael Clarke’s 230 in same match made a cut into top 20 list (at .9) by Cricket Australia. Former Indian cricketers and behemoths of Test cricket Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid also feature in high-profile list for ir batting efforts during 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar Test series ‘Down Under’. While Sachin Tendulkar’s 241 at Sydney Cricket Ground was placed at .6, Rahul Dravid’s 233 and 72* in Adelaide was ranked .3.

IPL 2020: Faf du Plessis in CSK

Faf du Plessis is a popular cricketing figure among Indian fans for his association with fan-favourite Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Proteas batsman first joined CSK in IPL 2011 and will continue to reprise his role in w-postponed IPL 2020 season. During IPL 2020 trading and transfer window, Faf du Plessis became one of 20 cricketers to be retained by franchise from ir squad of previous season.

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