Faf du Plessis backs India to clinch ultimate glory

South Africa did India a huge favour by defeating Australia in the final match of the group stage. The result along with India’s win against Sri Lanka meant that the Men in Blue finished top of the table, with the Aussies coming second. India will now face New Zealand in the first semi-final at Old Trafford, while Australia will compete against England in the second semi at Edgbaston.

South African skipper Faf du Plessis who was awarded the Man-of-the-Match for his century against Australia was quipped about who he believed would win the tournament. He was very frank in his reply, claiming that India and Australia handled the big match pressure better than most units and were his favourites for the crown. He said in the post-match presentation:

“I think India would be really happy that we won today. New Zealand’s form has dipped in the last three games, so I would probably say an India-England final. I think India and Australia have played the big games really well, so I would back one of them at the biggest stage of all.”

He further elaborated on his statement in the press conference:

“I think Australia and India have proven it time and time again. They are teams that win big games. You mean it’s hard to look past Australia and the success they’ve had in winning World Cups, as much as we would like to say we want to compete with that. The confidence that an Australian team comes into a World Cup with is just like an extra player on your team so Australia would be — they’ve got a tough game in the semifinal. They would probably prefer playing against New Zealand, so I would say one of Australia or India will win.”

Du Plessis also indicated that he would continue his international career until the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2020:

“Initially the plan was for me and [the coach] Ottis Gibson to go to the T20 World Cup so that is in a year’s time. For both of us, the plan was not to look past that. Then Cricket South Africa may change the coach and captain probably after that tournament and still have two-and-a-half to three years before the World Cup. That’s a possibility.”