South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis admitted after his side’s narrow 10-run win over Australia at Old Trafford on Saturday that their inconsistency was frustrating but that he was glad they turned up for the final two games.
“We have played inconsistent cricket. You need guys to lift the team and win the games on their own. We weren’t at our best,” he said at the post-match ceremony.
“It’s frustrating, but the last two games we have turned up. It’s important for the guys to bat through and gets hundreds.
“When you give your bowlers a chance, it’s always good. It’s different when you put runs on the board. We weren’t getting those big scores.”
Du Plessis, who was awarded the Man of the Match for his century in the first innings that helped the Proteas score 325, admitted he liked playing against Australia while also saying he was glad to be able to convert his starts into big scores.
[7/7, 09:24] Reverse 5: “I have tried to figure out why I bat nicely against them, it’s about reflecting it just a night before. I like playing against them.
“It’s been a tournament where I felt like I was hitting the ball well throughout the tournament and I was not able to convert my 50s and 60s into a big one. I managed to do that in the last two games.”
The 34-year old also predicted an India-England final but refused to rule out the possibility of Australia causing an upset.
“I think India would be really happy that we won today! New Zealand’s form has dipped in the last three games, so I would probably say an India-England final.
“I think India and Australia have played the big games really well, so I would back one of them at the biggest stage of all,” he signed off.
