Now we have match-winning spinners: Faf Du Plessis

Dharamsala Pace may have been their biggest strength all this while but South African Twenty20 skipper Faf du Plessis today said the Proteas now possess a potent spin force as well after the emergence of Imran TahirRecently Indian great Sachin Tendulkar had said that Tahir can be an impact player for South Africa on their long India tour and du Plessis endorsed the view ahead of the first Twenty20 international in Dharamsala on FridaySouth African captain Faf du Plessis addressing media after a practice session ahead of the first T20 match against India in Dharamshala on Thursday PicPTII suppose they know we have got spinners who can win us games Imran has proven it right across the world that he has changed his game specifically with the white ball format He has changed the way we have played in white ball format We have always relied on pace to strike first and now our success in One day team or T20 team is heavily on his Tahir shoulders du Plessis said at the prematch press conferenceHe is number two in the world in ODIs Its nice to know we have also got a weapon in spinning department JP Duminy also has had success in T20 cricket he gets wickets all the time Then we have young spinner in Eddie Leie almost tapping into Imrans knowledge so confident our spinning options the visiting captain saidTahir went wicketless in the warm up game in Palam but he contributed in the series against New Zealand and was also among wickets in County cricket in August He has taken 25 wickets in 16 T20sTalking about tomorrows match du Plessis hoped that the wicket will be ideal for T20 cricket even as it looks damp underneath as of nowBut I think with two days of sun to shine on it hopefully there will be a lot in it for the batsmen lots of runs but also good carry Hopefully we can have a game full of runs plenty of boundaries will be scored Its different than what we practiced in Delhi probably the quickest wickets I have played in India he saidDu Plessis was worried about the dew factor and to counter that they practiced with wet balls It came as a big surprise when we came for practice last night The dew was there at half past six But it will be pretty much same for both the teams Dew is never a nice thing for a bowling team or fielding team because the ball gets slippery The wet ball takes away a little bit of challenge from the spinners because it does not spin much he saidDavid Miller is a big striker of the cricket ball but he has not been in great form off late Du Plessis though was hopeful that the batsman will find his rhythm sooner than laterDavid knows these conditions As a batsman you take lot of learning from conditions so he knows the bowlers We know what he can do He is a real string hitter said du PlessisDu Plessis admitted that he and his teammates were in awe of the beautiful HPCA stadium I have been here for a few times and you are in awe of the beauty of the ground The mountain at the back It is compared to Newlands with the mountain at the back This is the best T20 ground in the world and Newlands is the best Test ground in the worldAsked how they plan to cope with gruelling and long tour of India du Plessis said it indeed was a big challenge mentally and the key was to get some quality time away from the gameAny place not at home can be quite tough mentally I can fall back on my time in IPL We CSK have been right through almost every season Its important how you enjoy away from the game Our management does sic a few plans to make it short because it can get long The Test matches are right at the endThats going to be a real challenge for the guys And we take pride in our status in Test matches we are number one Our performance is always of high standard India is one of the toughest places because conditions does not make it easier But you work through that he saidDu Plessis has shared the CSK dressing room with his counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina apart from Ravichandran Ashwin but he felt that familiarity with each other would not make it easier for anyoneIt does not take away the edge to win or competitiveness on the field Further talking about IPL he said IPL has changed the way cricket is played There is aggressiveness and I have taken a lot from IPL batting against the best spinners in the world