Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Faf du Plessis played an instrumental knock of 73 runs in Bangalore's comprehensive win against Delhi Capitals on Sunday evening (May 08) at iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. In a must-win game, Du Plessis batted till the end and built brief valuable partnerships with middle-order players like Rajat Patidar (48 off 38), Glenn Maxwell (33 off 24) and Dinesh Karthik (30 off 8).
Post-match, Plessis made an exciting revelation as he confessed that he got tired of his innings and wished to walk out of the field, allowing the finisher Dinesh Karthik more time in the middle against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. However, Du Plessis' wish came true as Maxwell got out in the 19th over of the first innings, and Karthik came in to bat.
Bangalore skipper said, "If Karthik keeps batting like that and hitting sixes, everyone wants him to get in and bat for as long as possible. He is so clear."
The RCB skipper added that he was mulling of getting retired out so that Dinesh Karthik come at the crease. Notably, the Indian batter smashed an unbeaten 30 off only eight deliveries to propel Bangalore's score to 192.
Surprised by Du Plessis' revelation, Harsha Bhogle, who was conducting a post-match presentation, asked, "Retiring out?" In response, the Bangalore skipper said, "Yes. The wicket was too tricky. It was not one of those wickets where you could just come in, but DK got lucky as his catch was dropped. And after that, he took them apart."
Interestingly, Karthik once again finished things in style for Bangalore as his quick 30-run knock was studded with four maximums and one boundary.
Speaking of players getting retired out, Rajasthan Royals took that decision when they called back R Ashwin to bring in Riyan Parag, known for his power-hitting, on the crease. That was the first such instance in the history of the Indian Premier League.