Twitter Reactions: Faf du Plessis continues to propel Paarl Rocks
Paarl have climbed to the third position in the points table with their third win of the season.
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Ever since Faf du Plessis has arrived, Paarl Rocks’ fortunes have changed dramatically. He took up the captaincy as well and has propelled his team to the third position now with an authoritative victory over the Durban Heat at home. Chasing the total of 155 runs, Du Plessis remained unbeaten on 78 off 49 balls while batting at number three with nine fours as the Heat suffered their fifth loss in six matches in the ongoing Mzansi Super League (MSL).
After winning the toss, the Heat opted to bat first surprisingly as it hasn’t been the trend in the tournament so far. However, at the start, the move seemed to have worked for them courtesy their openers, Sarel Erwee and Morne van Wyk. They added 65 runs for the opening wicket with the former scoring 32 off 22 and his partner accumulating 33 runs before Tabraiz Shamsi pinned him in front of the stumps.
The first wicket led to a significant dip in run-rate for the visitors and the bowlers pounced on. The wickets kept on falling even as Khaya Zondo tried to up the ante. From 65/0, the Heat slipped to 105/5 in the 16th over and it was only due to Vernon Philander’s quickfire 30 off 16 balls that they could reach 154 runs for the loss of six wickets after 20 overs. Zondo played second fiddle to him scoring 38 runs.
Straight-forward chase
One felt that the late impetus might have tilted the game towards the Durban Heat, but that wasn’t the case. The home side was dealt with a major blow as Henry Davids was retired hurt as he was facing trouble with his hamstring. However, it proved to be a blessing in disguise as the skipper Du Plessis controlled the game nicely with his batting masterclass.
He stitched a partnership of 68 runs with the other opener Aiden Markram who smashed 48 runs off 39 balls and took the initiative in the early part of the innings. However, he missed out to cross the 50-run mark with Brandon Mavuta spinning the web. This turned out to be the only success for the Heat in the innings as Vaughn van Jaarsveld too got going swiftly.
Despite not hitting any six during the innings, the Paarl Rocks overhauled the target comfortably in the end with nine wickets in hand in the last over.
Here’s how Twitter reacted during the match:
Congratulations to the Paarl Rocks and captain Faf Du Plessis #MSL ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฟ
— BucsForLife 1937โ๏ธ (@davidmasindi) December 2, 2018
Winning. Faf du Plessis and Vaughn van Jaarsveld clinches it for the @Paarl_Rocks. Another excellent captain's knock of 76. It's a 9-wicket win over the Durban Heat #MSLT20
— Leighton Koopman (@Leighton_K) December 2, 2018
anyways… busy watch faf du plessis knock the durban heat bowling line up all over the park. ๐๐
— day dreamer.โฒ (@sandelmkz) December 2, 2018
Itโs all over! Faf leads his team to victory at home against Durban Heat. What a performance from Paarl! #MSLT20 pic.twitter.com/7u2M0h1B8B
— Mzansi Super League ๐ฅ ๐ฟ๐ฆ ๐ (@MSL_T20) December 2, 2018
@Paarl_Rocks WIN by a massive 9 wickets!!! Captain Faf finished unbeaten on 76 off 48. Durban Heat remain bottom of the logs despite looking the strongest team on paper. Well done Paarl!!! #CaptainFaftastic #PaarlRocks #MSLT20
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) December 2, 2018
Faf going at 148 sr while scoring just 7 boundaries in 68 runs. Wow
— Johns (@CricCrazyJohns) December 2, 2018
Faf is in some fine form. #Fire everywhere! #CaptainFaftastic #MSLT20 #PRvsDH @faf1307
— Bastian Sdander (@BSdander) December 2, 2018
Congratulations to captain fantastic @faf1307 on his Man of the Match award. #MSLT20 pic.twitter.com/VNu21LN7np
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) December 2, 2018
Dear @ABdeVilliers17 learn from @faf1307 how to lead the team and guide the team to victory.
Please don't throw your wicket and why trying unorthodox shots when chasing?
As a fan its really disappointing to see this. #MSLT20— LD (@ABD17INDIA) December 2, 2018
The @durban_heat have just been nowhere! Wicket off a no-ball & fielding dismal.
Proteas sticking their hands up for the @Paarl_Rocks but wilting for the Heat. The pre tournament favourites have all but been knocked out before their star signing could even bowl a ball#MSLT20— HD Couch Critic (@HDCouchCritic) December 2, 2018
In 6 games, nearly nothing went right for the @durban_heat ๐ญ๐ญ#MSLT20
— ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฐ (@Shiven_MUFC) December 2, 2018
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