‘It’s like ABD never left’ – Twitter reacts as Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik thrash PBKS bowlers

Faf du Plessis made his mark in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s campaign opener against Punjab Kings as he played the captain’s knock by scoring a 57-ball 88. Winning the toss, PBKS sent RCB to bat first. Openers Anuj Rawat and Faf started off the game successfully as the two ended the powerplay scoring 41 runs, and Odean Smith conceded 10 runs in the second over that he bowled.

Du Plessis started slow but picked up the pace as he went on in the game. After his partnership with Rawat was broken, he formed an even better partnership with ex-captain Virat Kohli and went on to score a half-century off just 42 balls. He brought up his fifty with his signature shot as the ball was hit for a six.

Faf du Plessis kick-starts in captaincy tenure in style

The two put up a 118-run stand for the second wicket, and Faf kept hitting the bowlers for multiple boundaries. Before the start of the final four overs, RCB’s score jumped up to 158/1. Faf is known for giving a team the perfect start as an opener. He did that for the Chennai Super Kings till the 2021 editions, and continued his form for RCB.

The Faf show came to an end when Arshdeep Singh dismissed him in the 18th over when he was closing an IPL century. He was caught at long-off by Shahrukh Khan and had to depart scoring 88 runs off 57 balls. Virat Kohli also played an impressive knock of 41*(29) which included a four and two maximums.

During his knock of 88, Faf also completed 3000 runs in IPL, and became the seventh overseas player to achieve this feat. Before Faf, it was Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, David Warner, Shane Watson, and Kieron Pollard who crossed the 3000-run mark. He became the top scorer for his side in his very first game for the team.

Speaking of the match, it was raining boundaries at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. RCB put up a target of 206 for PBKS to chase in 20 overs as Faf, Kohli, and Dinesh Karthik took their team to a massive score of 205/2. Virat’s Show came to a pause when Karthik entered the crease, and he went on to score a 32*(14) which included three sixes and as many fours.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitter reacted to the fireworks from RCB batters: