South Africa’s former skipper Faf du Plessis reckons that Chennai Super Kings are the opposite of what South Africa are in the World Cups. CSK have a great record in the Indian Premier League and they have qualified for the playoff stages on all the 10 occasions they have been part of the league.
MS Dhoni-led team has made it to the final of the league on eight occasions and they have won three IPL titles. The Men in Yellow know the formula of winning the big matches and their players have grown in confidence as they have handled pressure in the crunch situations.
CSK have won 100 matches out of the 165 IPL matches they have played whereas they have lost 63 and one match has tied while one ended in no result. Ergo, they are the most consistent side in the tournament.
On the other hand, South Africa hasn’t been able to put up their best in the World Cup tournaments. The Proteas are yet to make the final of the 50-overs World Cup and they have not grabbed their chances in the big matches.
In fact, South Africa has always had a potent side but their performances in the World Cup is disappointing. The players haven’t been able to handle the pressure and thus they have lacked confidence.
South Africa has played 64 World Cup matches out of which they have won 39 whereas they have lost 23 and two matches have been tied. However, their record in knockout stages is poor. Faf du Plessis himself could do the job in the 2019 World Cup as his team won only three matches and lost eight.
Faf du Plessis said while talking Pommie Mbangwa on Instagram live session, “That’s (CSK’s never-say-die attitude) the opposite of what we (South Africa) are like in World Cups. No matter how bad it looks on the field, there’s a confidence in the dressing room that someone will pull through. A lot of the time, it’s someone different. MS Dhoni is one guy who’s done a lot of it but the rest of the guys share the load in winning games”.
“It’s just a confidence thing by doing it over and over again, so you’re a lot more relaxed. From a South African perspective in World Cups, we haven’t done it. When you get to a 50-50 perspective, the game just slides to the opposition the majority of the time,” he added.
It is a game of confidence and CSK have been able to deliver the goods as they come up with collective team effort. The team is not reliant on individual performances and they are led by one of the best captains, MS Dhoni.
On the other hand, South Africa have not been able to play up to their potential in the knockout matches of the World Cup.
