Faf: India, Australia are going to be a lot tougher

Cricket365
October 8, 2017

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said he was happy that his team achieved their targets against Bangladesh but acknowledges that tougher challenges lie ahead later in the summer, against India and Australia.

The Proteas beat Bangladesh by an innings and 254 runs on Sunday in Bloemfontein to wrap up a two-nil Test series victory in what was a one-sided contest in both games.

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Du Plessis though said the dominat series win was what the team needed after they fell to a disappointing 3-1 series loss in England not to long ago.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Du Plessis said: “I am very happy with that. It was a very clinical performance and give us consistency after the first Test.

“After England we set ourselves some challenges. From a batting point of view, we wanted some convincing performances and some big hundreds; from the bowlers we wanted them to be quick and aggressive. And we did those well.”

However, Du Plessis said India – who play three Tests in South Africa from January – and Australia – who will visit SA for four Tests in March – will provide much sterner opposition than the Tigers.

Bangladesh couldn’t bowl the Proteas out in any of the three innings over the two Tests, with the home batsmen cashing in after a difficult tour to England.

Du Plessis continued: “We had really good targets that we wanted to achieve in this series and we achieved those hands down.

“It gives us a lot of confidence but we appreciate that India and Australia are going to be a lot tougher. Bangladesh possibly didn’t have the firepower that we thought they would have in these conditions.”

The Proteas will now take on the Tigers in three ODIs, starting in Kimberley on Friday.