Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis entered history books on Tuesday and surpassed the 12,000-run mark in T20 cricket. The 41-year-old, who has been featuring for the Johannesburg Super Kings (JSK) in the ongoing season of SA20, played a valiant knock of 44 in the side's latest outing against MI Cape Town.
The innings saw him cross the 12,000-run mark in T20 cricket after playing a total of 429 matches in the format. Du Plessis has become the first South African cricketer to achieve this stunning milestone. Though the batter did achieve a monumental feat, he couldn't help his team get to victory as MI Cape Town won the game by four wickets after it was reduced to 12-overs-a-side due to rain delays.
De Kock and Miller close to du Plessis' record
Du Plessis is only the 10th player in history to reach the milestone, certifying him as one of the greats in the format. He has a lot of experience in both international cricket and franchise cricket and has been active in T20s for well over a decade now. Quinton de Kock is the second-highest run-getter for South Africa in the shortest format and currently has 11,813 runs under his belt. David Miller is the only other South African cricketer to have over 10,000 T20 runs.
South Africans with the most runs in T20s -
1. Faf du Plessis - 12,002 runs
2. Quinton de Kock - 11,813 runs
3. David Miller - 11,631 runs
4. Rilee Rossouw - 9705 runs
5. AB de Villiers - 9424 runs
Du Plessis' long T20 career
Meanwhile, du Plessis played a total of 50 T20Is for South Africa in his career and scored 1528 runs, including a century and 10 half-centuries. The batter has featured in franchise leagues around the world and has a phenomenal record there. However, his performances for JSK in the ongoing season of SA20 haven't been great. He has only scored 96 runs in four innings so far in the tournament and is yet to play any big knock. He will be aiming to pick up his form in the side's upcoming games.