"200 is something I didn't spend too much time thinking about" – Faf du Plessis not disappointed after getting out on 199
Faf du Plessis played his career-best Test knock of 199 runs against Sri Lanka in the ongoing match at SuperSport Park. He missed out on his maiden double ton by one run but du Plessis was not disappointed after missing the milestone.
Former South African cricket team captain Faf du Plessis has represented his nation in all three formats over the last nine years and has been a vital part of the batting lineup. However, some fans questioned his place in the team as he had not scored a Test ton since January 2019.
Faf du Plessis ended his torrid run in the red-ball format with a marathon knock of 199 runs against Sri Lanka. It is pertinent to note this is his highest score across all forms of professional cricket. After the third day's play, du Plessis spoke about his mindset after he breached the 100-runs milestone.
"Two hundred is something I didn't spend too much time thinking about. When you get past 100 you start thinking about 200, but the biggest thing from today was that if a batter gets in, you want to make sure you cash in. That becomes a match-winning knock. It's big hundreds you always strive for as a batting unit, to put the opposition under pressure," said Faf du Plessis.
The South African batsman conceded it was not the best knock he ever played in terms of stroke-making. Nonetheless, Faf du Plessis asserted the 199-run inning was a statement to silence his doubters.
I was pretty tired at that stage: Faf du Plessis talks about his dismissal on 199
Faf du Plessis looked set to record his maiden double century. Unfortunately, he miscued a shot off Wanindu Hasaranga's delivery straight into Dimuth Karunaratne's hands at mid-on.
"I thought I would just pop him over his head. I tried to hit it, possibly a bit too straight. I feel it's a shot I have played really well but execution was perhaps not 100% there. I was pretty tired at that stage. I was not in the greatest position to try and hit that for six. It's unfortunate. I worked extremely hard to try and get a 200 today," continued du Plessis.