ICC World Cup 2019 | Kane Williamson’s knock was difference between two sides, says Faf du Plessis
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After a narrow loss against New Zealand that left them on the brink of elimination from the World Cup, Faf du Plessis lauded the efforts of his opposite number Kane Williamson. Coming in at No. 3, the Kiwi captain delivered a masterclass on how to set up a big innings on a tough pitch.
Twenty years after their heartbreak against Australia at the doorstep of a final, Edgbaston handed South Africa another painful blow in their World Cup history. A four-wicket loss to New Zealand shuts the door on their progress at the 2019 edition in England. They now need a miracle-like string of results to come together in order to finish in the top four.Â
Speaking after the match, skipper du Plessis was all-praise for the Kiwi skipper who carried his side through to the end with a hard-fought 106 off 138 deliveries. Faf also used it as an example to show just what has gone wrong for his own side.Â
“Kane played a great knock, you know. It’s probably the difference between the two sides, just one guy taking it through. You need someone to go further, and we haven’t had that,” Faf said after the game, reported AFP.Â
Several South African batsmen have got starts in all six games, with 16 20-plus scores. But none of them have gone on to make big, match-winning hundreds, like Williamson did.
“If you look at our batting unit, we’ve got some future talent and some promising players, but if you put our top six and you put the other top sixes around the world, purely on a numbers point of view, we won’t be in the top three,” Du Plessis admitted.
