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South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has said that the Indian pitches in the ongoing Test series are the toughest he has faced in his career, he also went on to add that the senior players in the team need to support their younger teammates and keep them motivated.
The younger players in the South African team have come under criticism for being unable to handle the conditions in India during the ongoing Test series, which India has already clinched 2-0 with the fourth match to be played at the Feroze Shah Kotla in Delhi on December 3.
"I'm a senior player and I'm finding it tough because the conditions dictate the way you play and your performances. It's important for us to try and keep the younger players positive, and we've done that," Du Plessis said on the team’s performance so far in the Test series.
Du Plessis also seconded captain Hashim Amla’s claim that the pitches in India were by far the toughest and severest he had played on and cautioned against using them as a benchmark to assess their performances.
"These have been the toughest conditions that I have played under, it's also been a challenge for the young guys coming in," Du Plessis said. "It's a hard task for them because they get judged by playing Test cricket in these conditions where you have found that even our experienced players have found it tough. We have to keep motivating them and to keep the spirits high."
Indian pitches have made me concentrate more in the first 20 balls: Du Plessis
It is not only the younger players in the touring South African team, Du Plessis himself has never played Tests in India before and he added that he looked at this outing to India as an educational tour.
"The good thing about it is you can learn from this and improve your game. Even I have learnt a lot about my game in the last few matches. I've concentrated on my defense against spin in the first 20 balls I face," he said.
"In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand you can take your time, even if you aren't getting bad balls but the surface here doesn't allow that to happen. This is a huge learning curve for us and also something we can take forward."
During the second innings at Nagpur Du Plessis' intent was evident as he along with Amla, made the highest partnership of the match and threatened to stage a comeback that could have put India under pressure.
Except for Amla, Du Plessis, Elgar and De Villiers, none of the other South African batsmen have shown much commitment.
