Faf du Plessis scripts numerous records with 4th MLC ton
What's the story
South African batting stalwart Faf du Plessis put on a stellar performance in the opening match of Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026. He scored an unbeaten 113 off just 52 balls, leading his team, Texas Super Kings (TSK), to a stunning six-wicket victory over Seattle Orcas. The match was played at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday. This was du Plessis's fourth hundred in the league. Here are the key stats.
Match highlights
A blazing knock from du Plessis
Despite Seattle Orcas posting a formidable total of 220/2, thanks to Tim Seifert's brilliant 104 and Shayan Jahangir's 78, TSK chased it down with nine balls to spare. Du Plessis lost his opening partner, Saiteja Mukkamalla, in the first over, but didn't let that affect his game. He launched a counterattack with fellow South African Rilee Rossouw (49), taking the pressure off Seattle and racing past 50 in just over three overs.
Personal achievements
First batter to complete 1,000 MLC runs
Du Plessis reached his half-century off just 24 balls and his century in a mere 45 deliveries, one of the fastest in MLC history. The innings was a testament to his prowess as a T20 opener. His 113* was laced with nine fours and seven sixes as TSK prevailed comfortably.
Career trajectory
Du Plessis proves his mettle
Despite not having an IPL contract and opting to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for IPL 2026, du Plessis proved he still has what it takes to help his side almost single-handedly chase down a 220-run target. His last major competitive outing was at SA20 2026, where he played just five innings. Now, as captain of TSK in MLC 2026, he is ready to take on new challenges.
DYK
1,000 runs; 4th hundred
With this knock, du Plessis became the first player in tournament history to complete 1,000 MLC runs. Across 27 games in four seasons, the 41-year-old has raced to 1,047 runs at an average of 43.62 and a strike rate of 167.25 with four centuries under his belt. No other batter owns more than two hundreds in the league. Du Plessis also happens to be the batter with the most 50-plus scores in MLC history (10).
Career
Du Plessis goes par with Babar
With his latest ton, du Plessis has now equaled Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, Sahibzada Farhan, and Abhishek Sharma in terms of T20 centuries. All these dashers have nine tons to their name. Meanwhile, each of du Plessis's nine T20 hundreds has come as a captain (217 innings) - the joint-most for any batter. The Proteas star has joined Babar Azam at the top. Michael Klinger (7) is the only other batter with more than five tons while leading in T20 cricket.
Information
Here are his T20 numbers
With his knock against Seattle Orcas, du Plessis has raced to 12,154 runs in T20 cricket at 33.11. In 432 T20s, he has a strike rate of 137.69 (9 tons and 83 fifties). As many as 1,528 of those runs have come for South Africa in T20Is.