Du Plessis lauds bowlers after T20 series victory

South African skipper Faf du Plessis rated their bowling performance against India in the second T20I as their "best ever" which has set the tone for their long tour to India.

"I think possibly it's the best bowling performance I've seen ever in T20Is. It was amazing to see all bowlers fantastic. To beat India 2-0 in India is a huge achievement and we are truly proud of that," Du Plessis said. "The way you start when you come to India is important. When India are on top they play really well. So, it was really important for us because we are the team that are starting the tour."

Faf came out with four bowling changes in the first four overs and he said it was a plan to unsettle the Indian batsmen. "It was not the plan leading up to the week, but it happened through the game. I thought of using Imran (Tahir) upfront. He had not bowled in the Powerplay, but I thought changing things up, trying to be unpredictable so that the batsmen can't predict what they want to do. There was great variation in the first six overs, there was spin and pace, and then we got wickets. Obviously, there were two key run outs, but getting wickets upfront is key always. Our bowlers did that always. Once again it was a great bowling performance. To knock the runs off quite clinically was also important."

Having played under MS Dhoni at CSK in the IPL, he said the Indian captain had a calming influence on him.

"I was very fortunate that I played with MS when I just captaining. So, as a young leader you look at where you can learn from other leaders. At that time, it was Dhoni there, also (Stephen) Fleming was a successful captain.

"You see what works for them, but more important thing is you don’t copy other leaders and try to be yourself. You learn and try to learn from your mistakes, and then you come to a stage in your career where you have your own identity.

"He has got a calm demeanour on the field, has a lot of respect from his team, and has got a good cricket brain. Put all those things together, and there is a lot to learn from. I am very lucky we have got good leaders in Chennai.

“There must be four-five captains playing in one team – Brendon, Stephen, Bravo, myself. To have their brain trust, I am extremely lucky to be in that great position. Obviously MS leads that team, but we all give our inputs.”