The South Africa batsman’s announcement of his retirement came as a chock to many in the cricketing world. Faf du Plessis announced his retirement in an Instagram post. He said that he wanted to focus more on the limited format of the game and thus he is taking this decision. He wrote: "The next two years are ICC T20 World cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be. I strongly believe that I have a lot to offer to the Proteas in this format. This does not mean that ODI cricket is no longer in the plans, I'm just making T20 cricket the priority in the short-term."
In this article, we look back at the top centuries scored by the South African.
110 vs Australia, November 2012: It was a time when Greame Smith was still the captain of the Proteas and Faf was debuting for SA. He scored 78 in the first innings and when the team required him the most. He scored 110 of 376 balls in the last innings while chasing 430 runs. The resilience showed by Faf helped draw the match for South Africa. He was adjudged Man of the Match on debut.
137 vs New Zealand, January 2013: In a match where SA won by an innings and 193 runs, Faf du Plessis was the highest run scorer. South Africa’s innings had three centurions in the form of Amla, du Plessis and Elgar. Du Plessis had a big partnership with Elgar that helped the SA total reach 525.
134 vs India, December 2013: Faf scored this hundred in the final innings of the Test match. The Proteas were chasing a total of 458 and they almost registered a record chase. They fell just eight short of the target. Faf got out when the score was 442. Had he been present at the crease, India would have lost after posing such a big target.
135* vs Bangladesh, October 2017: This was yet another match-winnings innings by Faf du Plessis. He was among the three centurions in the team. South Africa won the match by an innings and 200 runs.
199 vs Sri Lanka, December 2020: This was a boxing-day Test match between SA and Sri Lanka. Du Plessis scored a brilliant 199 and fell short of a double hundred by just one run. He hit 24 boundaries in the innings. This was his last century as a Test player for South Africa. He later played in the series against Pakistan but failed to impress his fans.
Watch the video of Faf's wicket on 199 here:
Faf du Plessis’ retirement came as a shock but legacy will always be cherished in South Africa and around the world. Farewell Faf!