Had JP Duminy not hurt his Achilles tendon in the first Test
in Brisbane, Faf du Plessis might not have featured in the second Test at
Adelaide in 2012. The Australian team led by the marvellous Michael Clarke,
were in no mood to repeat the story of 2008 and tightened the screw each day of
the second Test in Adelaide. While Clarke’s bat slaughtered the Proteas attack,
the Aussie bowlers led by the hard-working Peter Siddle, kept the Proteas
batsmen on a knife’s edge.
On the final day, survival was nothing but a dream, let
alone winning the Test match. The cream of South Africa’s batting line-up kept
on tumbling and it was left to Faf – an unknown figure at that time, to script
one of the most outstanding fightbacks in the history of Test cricket to deny
Australia a win which was a surety since the first ball was bowled on day 5.
Both Australia and South Africa’s recent record in Test
cricket has not been great. Both teams have experienced some nightmarish
outcomes at home and abroad, for which, a lot of character was needed from the
captains of the respective teams to instil motivation and confidence among his
players.
While Steve Smith failed to live up to the expectations, the
Proteas captain led his men brilliantly, defying all the odds to nail
Australia.
The world had experienced Faf’s captaincy abilities, but his
bat was yet to bloom flowers.
While the atmosphere in the South African camp was ecstatic
after the rout at Hobart, world cricket was jolted when the South African
captain was accused of ball-tampering and was fined his entire match fee from
the Hobart Test. This triggered enormous criticism from a section of the
Australian press and an ugly tussle between South African security and a
journalist at Adelaide airport made matters even worse.
The day-night Test match at Adelaide was a dead-rubber, but
it became one of the most anticipated Test matches of this year. The world
awaited to watch how the Proteas could cope with such pressure and how du
Plessis, the villain in the Australian public’s eyes, responds in front of the
crowd, who were expected to be harsh, vociferous and at times, ugly.
Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood swung the ball and
Hazlewood’s length was immaculate and posed a big threat for the South African
middle-order. Elgar, Hashim Amla and Duminy melted quickly and then entered Faf
du Plessis.
His entry was not greeted warmly, with boos ringing around
the ground; he was not a welcome guest but a villain who should not have
featured in South Australia.
Firstly, he needed to marshall Cook and calm him down to
help stitch a partnership and arrest a collapse and secondly, he needed to blow
away the demons which haunted him in the past few days.
Cook started to settle while the early part of the South
African captain’s innings at the crease was scratchy. Jackson Bird’s length
found the edge which fell short of slip cordon and Starc’s short-ball damaged
his eardrums and when he returned the ball to the bowler, the crowd booed
again.
The hostility of the crowd began to increase, Faf gradually
dished out his best.
He mixed caution with aggression. He targeted the onside
field and flicked in style to fetch boundaries in a quick fashion. As soon as
Nathan Lyon was introduced, he curbed his attacking instincts and slowed down.
He kept rotating the strike rather than trapping himself into a shell. At the
other end, Cook discovered his scoring mojo and supported his skipper very well
to stitch a 51-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
As soon as Cook was dismissed, the South African innings
started to lose its way and yet again, du Plessis stepped up to keep South
Africa afloat.
In the next over, he paddle-swept Lyon for two runs and ran
towards the River Bank stand to celebrate his epic ton. He had given a mighty
blow to the face of the hostile crowd with a sucker-punch and applause from the
Adelaide crowd drowned out the hostile booing from one section of the
crowd.
Only time will tell how effective his hundred will be for
South Africa, but he has conveyed a message to the world that pressure always
brings out the best in him and he is one of those fighters who relishes big
occasions and uphill tasks.
It was on this ground four years ago that he announced his
arrival with a fighting knock and four years later, he made Adelaide his own
with another gallant knock.
Without a doubt, he is the darling of Adelaide Oval.
Note: This
article was published at Sportskeeda on 25/11/2016 Faf du Plessis - The darling of Adelaide Oval
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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