Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis soaked up the pressure at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday to score a century – at the same venue where he scored his first on debut – and then opted to declare on 259-9 against Australia.
It’s been a turbulent week for Du Plessis, who has divided opinion across the cricketing world after being charged by the ICC for ball-tampering, but after being cleared to play in this match on Tuesday, he’s cleared his mind as well in what has been an incredible response from the skipper.
With batsmen constantly falling around him, Du Plessis soaked up the pressure and brought up his sixth Test ton and his second in Adelaide after reaching the milestone here on debut. This, after being greeted by a chorus of boos around the ground when he walked to the crease.
One can’t read too much into whether this is a respectable total or not, but the fact remains it is the biggest total under lights in Adelaide, surpassing Australia’s 224 all out against New Zealand this time last year.
They went into the final session on 165-7, and Kyle Abbott did an excellent job of hanging around, which allowed Du Plessis to continue to play naturally. Abbott departed for 17 and Kagiso Rabada was stumped for one, before Tabraiz Shamsi opened up his shoulders with 18.
Wanting to give Australia a few overs under the lights, Du Plessis, who finished on 118 not out, made the bold move to declare on 259-9.
Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
