PBKS vs RCB: Faf du Plessis shines on captaincy debut to surpass ‘Mr IPL’ Suresh Raina in elusive list | Cricket

After passing the baton to Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli on Sunday took the field without wearing the captain’s armband for RCB for the first time since 2012. The former skipper played the perfect second fiddle and perhaps had the best seat in the house. Du Plessis turned up for Bangalore and produced a captain’s knock for the DY Patil Stadium crowd to cherish. (Follow RCB vs PBKS Live Score & Updates)

Du Plessis added a century stand with Kohli for the second wicket and the effortless innings by the South African featured three fours and seven sixes. He reached his fifty off 41 deliveries and pressed on the accelerator to score the next 40 odd runs in just 15 balls.

A three-time IPL winner under MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings, du Plessis was picked by RCB for ₹7 crore after an intense bidding war. He was all set to notch up his maiden IPL century before a stunning catch by Shahrukh Khan ended the RCB captain’s stay. The 37-year-old ended up scoring 57-ball 88 to lay the foundation of a competitive total.

In the process, he ticked off the 3000-run mark to go past ‘Mr IPL’ Suresh Raina in the list of fewest innings taken to achieve the milestone. West Indies dasher Chris Gayle tops the list, having taken just 75 innings for the feat. KL Rahul (80) is second while du Plessis is tied with David Warner on 94 innings.

Fewest innings to 3000 IPL runs:

75 Chris Gayle

80 KL Rahul

94 David Warner & Faf du Plessis

103 Suresh Raina

Post du Plessis’ exit, Kohli teamed up with Dinesh Karthik, who produced some late fireworks to steer Bangalore past the 200-run mark. The seasoned wicketkeeper-batter ended up scoring unbeaten 32 off 14 deliveries. 

Kohli, on the other hand, took a backseat to end with 41 runs. Bangalore in the end notched up 205 for two in 20 overs on a batting-friendly wicket.