IND vs SA 2019: “India Could be a Tough Place to Play if You Lose Form” – Faf du Plessis

South Africa have lost the first two Tests as well as the series against India where captain Faf du Plessis said that the difference between both the sides has been the “inexperience” as the world class players like Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are not there and these youngsters need time to reach their height. South Africa lost by 203 runs in the first Test and lost by an innings and 137 runs in the second.

“I think, it’s purely a case of inexperience. I said before this Test series, your best Test teams are the teams with the most experience. When it comes to this Indian team, there’s a lot of experience in that dressing room, there’s a lot of Test matches behind their names,” a dejected Faf du Plessis said.

“We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, all of them were seasoned campaigners. You don’t replace those guys overnight. And now it’s a new group of guys, who have played 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15 Test matches. That will take time. If you take the best players out of any team, they would find the same challenges,” Faf du Plessis expressed.

He also said that as captain he needs to play more causiously along with Quinton de Kock and Dean Elgar.

“For us, it is important as a senior player group to make sure that we put in performances ourselves. Myself, Deano, Quinny (De Kock), we can’t expect other guys to make runs. We need to make sure we make the runs first and then the others guys to chip in with us,” said Du Plessis, putting across his point clearly.

He also indicated that some decisions are on the cards for the batting unit.

“The batting failed in the first innings and from the starting point of view, we have not started well. Every single innings, we have been in a position where we have been 40 or 50 for three. It’s a vital component as how you start in the sub-continent,” he said.

He even shared that it would be difficult if anyone lose the form. He even praised his counterpart, Virat Kohli who scored a double-ton and broke a couple of records.

“Virat’s knock was incredible. Surprised that he started slow, normally he is quite busy and gets off quite well. He was quite patient in the beginning, which was required in the wicket, he left well. And then, sheer mental toughness to bat for that long. It takes huge amount of brain power. You can see that, and you can only admire from a distance,” Faf du Plessis concluded.