I thought Shardul was a tail-ender: Faf du Plessis recalls IPL qualifier
May 23, 2020
New Delhi [India], May 23 : Former South African skipper and Chennai Super Kings batsman Faf du Plessis revealed that he thought Shardul Thakur was just a tail-ender and would get out quickly in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad during the Indian Premier League Qualifier 1 in 2018.
In the 2018 IPL Qualifier, CSK were chasing a small total of 140 runs, when they were reduced to 62 for 6 by the Hyderbad bowlers.
However, du Plessis valiant innings saw CSK get close to the target. But, the team kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reeling at 113 runs for the loss of eight wickets.
It was then that Shardul came into bat at number 10 and smashed 15 runs off just five balls to take his side over the line.
"We were in huge trouble as we had lost all our wickets. Its one of those games where you hope you can do something great but it seems a long way away when everyone's out and just me (du Plessis) left," said du Plessis in a video posted on CSK YouTube channel.
"But the guys who came in, I remember Shardul was unbelievable. I have never seen him bat before, so he came in and I was like probably gonna be tail-ender. He is going to hit one and then he's gonna get out. But he batted even better than me there for a while. He was unbelievable!" recalled du Plessis.
CSK defeated SRH by two wickets in the game. CSK, in the 2018 IPL final, again defeated SRH to clinch their third IPL trophy.
Du Plessis would have been in action for CSK in the IPL if the tournament had started on March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
