“If he [Karthik] keeps hitting sixes like that, everyone always wants to get him in and bat for as long as possible. But he’s just so clear. I mean, to be honest with you, I was actually trying to get out because I was so tired to get DK in and we were even contemplating, you know, myself retiring,” du Plessis, who made 73 off 50, said with that last word in air quotes.
Harsha Bhogle who was conducting the post-match presentation double-checked. “Retiring out?”
“Retiring out, yes,” du Plessis replied, “But then we lost that wicket. Yeah, DK is in such good form. But it was a tricky wicket. It wasn’t one of those wickets where you could just come in – I think it was not evident with DK but with other guys, the first few balls, they struggled. And then lucky for us, I think there was a dropped catch off DK in that one over and then he took them apart.”
“Really happy for Wani,” du Plessis said. “I think personally he was looking for that one match where he blows right through the batting line-up. He’s been threatening to do that right throughout the campaign. So very happy that tonight was that night. He’s obviously one of those special bowlers, if you’re not picking him, and especially when you get to the lower-order batters, he can run through them quickly.”