WT20: India favourites, SA underdogs, says Faf du Plessis

Mirpur South African skipper Faf du Plessis today said though he has learnt a lot from MS Dhoni during his stint with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL he would be relying on his own style of captaincy when his team takes on India in the semifinals of the ICC World T20 here todayIve really enjoyed my time in Chennai and my time with MS I have been there now for three years I have learnt quite a bit from him as a captain He is a very good and an inspirational leader and he has had huge success for IndiaFaf Du Plessis Pic AFPHis record speaks for itself My style of captaincy is completely different to his Du Plessis said when asked if he has learnt some tricks of the trade from Dhoni Du Plessis termed India the favourites while calling his team underdogsWe felt a couple of times before that this was our time India are still regarded as one of the favourites and we have played pretty much through the whole tournament as underdogs We have been playing very well as a team and we have had different guys performing in every single game so we are not relying on someoneIts important to play the key moments well It is a high pressure game and if you make the right decisions on the day you will be on top he said Du Plessis admitted that India would have an advantage going into the match having played all their matches at the ShereBangla Stadium hereIts a huge thing The wicket at Dhaka is completely different to Chittagong We have played all our games there Chittagong and India have played all their games here From a conditions point of view they are much more used to them than we are and we have put in some really hard practice to speak on really abrasive surfaces making sure that we almost overpractised against the ball that is turning too much he observedDu Plessis said that one should not try and read too much into Shane Warne dropping in at the South African nets yesterday It wasnt our decision I think it was Warnes decision He thought he wanted to come and bowl a bit and bowl a few balls to us Obviously it was nice to have him around as he has been such a fantastic bowlerWe certainly didnt request him to come and bowl I wasnt there when he was speaking with Imran Tahir Du Plessis replied to a query The skipper made it a point to mention that Tahir had played for the English County side Hampshire alongside WarneBut Imran has met him before Obviously they both have played for Hampshire They have worked together in the past and I did ask him Tahir as to what he Warne said Tahir just said Warne praised him and said youve been bowling well and keep up the good workHe kept the cards close to his chest about what position AB de Villiers would bat on or whether leftarm spinner Aaron Phangiso would get a chance to play tomorrow It is not important how much time AB bats but at what time of the innings he batsI have been pretty clear on that and theres been a certain time that we feel is the best for AB to come in and bat and thats definitely not at a certain position He could come in at No 3 if we have had a good start Du Plessis saidThat decision on Phangiso we will take tomorrow We decided that because there is a game before us womens semifinal We will assess how the wicket is playing and if it helps spin we will definitely look at that optionDu Plessis feels South Africas good show against Indians at home last year will boost their confidence I must say India has done very well over the past few days They have always been a team that does well in big tournaments but we played against them and we have been immensely successful against them and well draw confidence from that So both teams will be equally confident when it comes to the match tomorrow he said