South African skipper Faf du Plessis enjoyed a fine start to the ICC World Cup 2019 campaign with a confident 87-run win over Sri Lanka in their warm-up game in Cardiff on Friday. The biggest gain for Du Plessis was return of his premier fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada from injuries.
Ngidi, who missed out on the IPL due to a side strain, was the more impressive of the two, claiming two early wickets in his opening four-over spell. Ngidi picked up 2/12 from his six overs as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 251 chasing 339 to win.
“I rate Lungi very highly. He is an exceptional fast bowler who is going to get wickets for us,” du Plessis said about his Chennai Super Kings and SA teammate Ngidi.
Rabada bowled seven overs on his return from a back injury that resulted in his early departure from the IPL and Chris Morris came back into the national side after his late inclusion in the World Cup squad.
“KG has been slowly building up, working on his action and working on his run-up. Today was the first time with he was bowling at full intensity,” du Plessis said after the warm-up game.
“Chris Morris was a bit rusty, he hasn’t played much cricket but he still has time to try and get over that rustiness,” the South African skipper added.
