Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis created history in Major League Cricket (MLC) by becoming the first batsman to score four centuries in the tournament. The veteran batsman achieved the feat during the opening match of the 2026 season at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday, June 18 (local time).
Du Plessis leads Texas Super Kings to thrilling six-wicket win over Seattle Orcas. Chasing 221, the veteran opener dominated the bowling attack with a brilliant century to help Texas start their campaign with a win in Dallas. They achieved the target with nine balls and six wickets remaining.
Faf du Plessis played a brilliant innings and remained unbeaten after scoring 113 runs in 52 balls with the help of seven fours and seven sixes. The South African legend completed his century in just 45 balls while chasing the target.
At the age of 41 years and 340 days, Du Plessis became the oldest player to score a T20 century, surpassing the previous record held by former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood. He also became the first batsman in MLC history to score four centuries.
This innings took Du Plessis past 1,000 runs in Major League Cricket, making him the first batsman to reach the feat in the tournament. In four MLC seasons, he has scored 1,001 runs at an average of around 59 and a strike rate of 175.
Tim Seifert’s century goes in vain as Texas Super Kings complete record chase
Earlier in the match, Seattle Orcas posted a mammoth total of 220/2 after opening batsman Tim Seifert scored 104 off 66 balls to register his maiden MLC century. He received excellent support from Shayan Jahangir, who scored 78 off 47 balls as the pair added a tournament-record 191 runs for the first wicket.
Despite losing Saiteja Mukkamalla in the opening over of the chase, Texas Super Kings responded aggressively. Faf du Plessis shared a crucial 95-run partnership with fellow South African Riley Rossouw, who scored 49 runs from 21 balls.
Texas scored 89/1 in the powerplay and remained ahead at the required rate throughout the innings. After Du Plessis set the stage with his unbeaten century, Wiaan Mulder finished the job with an unbeaten 31 off 15 balls, helping Texas Super Kings reach 221/4 in 18.3 overs and win with nine balls to spare.
You always want to repay the franchise – Faf du Plessis on his relationship with the Super Kings
Faf du Plessis talked about his strong connection with the Super Kings franchise and said that his motivation to perform for the team is as strong as ever. The Texas Super Kings captain said that he always wants to repay the faith shown to him over the years.
“And it’s always good to be associated with any Super Kings franchise. It’s a good franchise to be a part of. Very loyal, great fan base too. So you always feel like you want to repay all the years you’ve been with them. So I still have the same desire. That hasn’t changed.”
“Oh my God. No, it’s good. Even though milestones don’t matter much these days, it’s not something you bat for. It’s about that intensity and strike rate. But as long as you can maintain that, for me, it’s putting a score on the board that really wins you matches. 30s and 40s don’t often win you games. So you want to get to that 70-plus, 75-plus where you feel. That you are making a big contribution to help the team win and obviously, strike rate is always important.”