Texas Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis scripted history in T20 cricket. Du Plessis scored his eighth T20 century, most by a captain in the format's history (including domestic, franchise T20 cricket and T20Is). The 40-year-old achieved the feat in his 205th game as captain.
Previously, the record was jointly held by Pakistan's Babar Azam and former Australia batter Michael Klinger. Babar had seven centuries from 144 games as captain whereas Klinger scored the same from 120 games.
2 centuries before turning 41
Du Plessis remained unbeaten for 103 runs from 53 balls. His knock was studded with five fours and nine sixes. His unbeaten ton helped Texas Super Kings post 223/4 and beat MI New York by 39 runs. He became the first batter to score two T20 centuries after turning 40. Pakistan's Zubair Ahmed, Afghanistan's Imran Janat, Zimbabwe's Graham Hick and England's Paul Collingwood have one T20 century each after turning 40.
MLC legend
He also holds the record for most centuries (3) in Major League Cricket (MLC) history. This is the Proteas batter's second century of the season. He scored 100 runs from 51 balls against Washington Freedom earlier this month.
He is currently the leading run-scorer in MLC with 783 runs from 22 innings at an average of 37.28.
Where does Du Plessis stand on list of most T20 centuries by a batter?
Du Plessis now holds the fourth spot on the list of most centuries in T20 Cricket. Former West Indies opener Chris Gayle has 22 centuries, follower by Babar who has 11 such scores. South Africa's Rilee Rossouw and India's Virat Kohli have nine T20 centuries each. Klinger, former Australia batters Aaron Finch, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, former England captain Jos Buttler and former India captain Rohit Sharma have eight T20 centuries to their name as well.
The fear that keeps Du Plessis going
Du Plessis opened up about what keeps him driving at this age. He wants to maximise his potential.
"The drive inside me is pretty big. To keep performing while I am playing. I have this fear of not living up to my full potential. So trying to squeeze every bit of if and use my potential," he said in the post-match presentation.