Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis had started the IPL 2022 season in a grand fashion last month, slamming 88 off 57 balls against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
However, the right-hander hit a lean phase after that knock, registering a total of 66 runs in his next five innings.
On Tuesday (April 19), though, Du Plessis gave a glimpse of his return to form with a fine knock of 64-ball 96 against Lucknow Super Giants.
The RCB captain produced this half-century when his team was reeling at 5/2 after losing Anuj Rawat (4) and Virat Kohli (0) cheaply.
Du Plessis’ shirt was covered in sweat during the death overs and a tired-looking shot in the final over denied him a century.
“Due to the nature of this ground, you do run a lot of twos and towards the end, it can be tiring. I got a few 96, and a 97, so hopefully (a century) is around the corner," Fu Plessis said at the post-match presentation.
“We needed someone to stabilise the innings and then get going at the back end. Today, grateful that I could do it. Important that I am able to follow my blueprint of batting. If you bowled slow into the wicket to the big boundary, it never felt like you had enough power to clear that boundary. I was tired, but was still hoping that I could hit some at the end," he added.
For his stunning effort with the bat, Faf du Plessis earned the Player-of-the-Match award.
“Need one guy to bat through consistently, but we haven’t had that frequently. DK has saved us quite a bit, hopefully today is a stepping stone in that direction," he said.
The RCB skipper also praised his bowlers for sticking to the plan, especially in the death overs.
“Before the last two games, it (death bowling) was a concern as we were getting hit in areas we shouldn’t have been. But in the last two games, we’ve got hit to where we’ve wanted to. Harshal (Patel) has been exceptional, watch out for him, he’s going to be special for the rest of the season too," Du Plessis said.
With the win, RCB climbed to the second spot on the points table, only behind the Gujarat Titans.
“At the moment, lot of teams at the top, and many in the middle, and when that happens, it’s always a scramble (for playoffs). But that’s out of our control. We need to just working on our strengths and we actually can get better in a few things," Faf said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next match on April 23.
(With CricketNext inputs)
