While a 333-run win in Test will surely please most captains, Faf du Plessis was not a happy man after South Africa decimated Bangladesh in the first Test on Monday (October 2).
The Proteas skipper did not refrain from expressing his disappointment over the pitch that was on offer for the game in Potchefstroom as he said he was hoping for a surface that would give the host a bigger advantage over the visitors. In recent times, the home teams have preferred to play on tailored pitches and going by that trend the pitch should have offered pace and bounce which would have suited the South African bowlers. Instead, the pitch had nothing much for the bowlers as Bangladesh ended up scoring more than 300 runs in their first innings.
The hosts managed to dismiss Mushfiqur Rahim & Co. for a paltry 90 in the second innings, but it was not enough to cheer up du Plessis.
“The good thing was that the groundsman said the wicket won’t spin, and for three-and-a-half days or probably four days, the wicket didn’t spin off the straight. We got that right. But in terms of what we were looking for in pace and bounce, it was really slow and you could see that even some of the tailenders were pretty comfortable with the short ball. Our bowlers made changes, they adapted beautifully, they were consistent in their areas and we put Bangladesh under pressure for five days,” du Plessis said at the post-match press conference.
The win, nevertheless, saw South Africa starting their journey under new head coach Ottis Gibson on the best possible note.
Speaking about Gibson, du Plessis said:
“He made a joke that he is going to retire after this one with a 100% strike rate. He is enjoying this challenge, which is going to fall over the next two years. He has got a few plans in place. The ultimate goal is also to try and make an impact on the World Cup in two years’ time, so we are already having some good conversations about that to make sure we are ahead of the curve with our planning. I’ve enjoyed working with him. He is a guy that likes structure, much like myself, so I think we work well together.”