Du Plessis pleased to fulfill goal

News

Cricket365
November 16, 2013

Captain Faf du Plessis expressed pride in the bowlers, after South Africa beat Pakistan by six runs – and completed a two-nil series victory – in Friday's final Twenty20 International at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The Proteas climbed to a formidable total of 150 for five on the back of du Plessis' brisk half-century and complementary cameos from openers Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, after which the opposition were restricted to an insufficient 144 for nine.

Seamer Wayne Parnell led the charge with telling figures of three for 25, while fast bowler Dale Steyn and leg-spinner Imran Tahir secured a brace each. All-rounder Ryan McLaren and part-timer Henry Davids, meanwhile, contributed with important breakthroughs.

"It's a great achievement by the team. We played really well under pressure. We said we wanted to come here and two-nil and we did that. There were times when Pakistan played really well and came back into the game," said du Plessis.

"Our bowlers and fielders performed well. As a bowling unit we have certainly grown a lot over the last couple of months. Credit to them for the time and effort they have put into it."

The teams will meet again in South Africa, later this month, for two T20Is and three ODIs. The participation of injury-prone fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, however, is doubtful. Irfan bowled 10 deliveries in Friday's fixture before leaving the field with an apparent hip injury.

"There is always room for improvement. We are not the finished article, but we are on our way. It will be nice to be back in South Africa and looking forward to another series against Pakistan. We will try to beat them two-nil again," concluded du Plessis.