Faf du Plessis matches remarkable MS Dhoni feat after South Africa's win over Sri Lanka

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 45 runs at Centurion Park to take a 1-0 le in ongoing two-match series. Faf du Plessis, who relieved himself of captaincy duties t long ago, was judged as Player of Match for his heroic 199-run kck against visitors. innings also turned out to be his magnum opus Test performance even though he fell short of his maiden double ton by just one run.

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Prior to opening day of recently-concluded Test, Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne won toss and opted to bat first. At stumps on Day 1, touring party reached 340-6 on back of solid half-centuries from Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dasun Shanaka. Despite a compact foundation laid by Sri Lankan batsmen on Day 1, y ended up losing Test by an innings, thus marking only second such occasion in Test history.

only or instance of a team scoring more on an opening day and losing by an innings later occurred way back in 2009. Interestingly, match in contention also involved Sri Lanka when y scored 366-8 on Day 1 against India at Brabourne Stium. In match, MS Dhoni-led Indian side defeated ir continental neighbours by an innings and 24 runs.

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While Faf du Plessis scored 199 in South Africa’s recent series-leing win over Sri Lanka, former Indian cricketers Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni scored blazing tons in India’s innings win back in 2009. aforementioned three batsmen are w lone members of an elite club to score centuries in ir side’s innings win over ir opponents after conceding 340 or more runs on opening day of a Test.

Remarkably, two of above three cricketers are long-time teammates in Indian Premier League (IPL). MS Dhoni, who has been captain of Chennai franchise in India’s cash-rich T20 tournament, has been teammates with Faf du Plessis since 2011 edition of competition. Moreover, two former captains of ir respective national sides are all set to reprise ir roles for franchise in upcoming IPL 2021 season.

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Faf du Plessis 199 vs Sri Lanka: Cricketer’s innings helines South Africa’s win

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Im source: CSA and BCCI Twitter