Never mind that it was South Africas first day-night Test or among Adelaides most social events. Never mind that the Australians were facing their first whitewash at home. Never mind that they hoped to avoid that by making five changes including three debutants, a colour-blind wicketkeeper who last pl

Never mind that it was South Africas first day-night Test or among Adelaides most social events. Never mind that the Australians were facing their first whitewash at home. Never mind that they hoped to avoid that by making five changes including three debutants, a colour-blind wicketkeeper who last played Test cricket three years ago and a third seamer playing his sixth Test in four years. This was always going to be about Faf du Plessis.Convicted chewer of mints and user of fresh-smelling saliva to shine the ball. Charming stand-in captain who continues to claim innocence. Centurion at this venue four years ago who ground down Australian morale and changed the momentum of the series. November 24, 2012 was the date he made 78 on debut; November 24, 2016 was the date he made a century on the road to redemption. If South Australia was looking for a new public holiday, they may be interested in a du Plessis day.That is not as far-fetched as it seems. At the end of the first day of this Test, Adelaide loved him as much as he loves it.The cheers outweighed the boos when du Plessis ran to the Riverbank Stand in celebration of his second century at this venue. With the setting sun, the soft light creating a halo of the clouds, the scene should have been romantic, but du Plessis assaulted the cool evening air with a volley of punches. Most of them would have been instinctive acts of achievement; some of them were aimed at the armchair executioners, who labelled him a cheat and wrote him off as an opportunist after the Hobart Test and the ball-tampering bluster.Several of them were in attendance when du Plessis walked out to bat, with South Africa stumbling on 44 for 3. He was greeted with a chorus of condemnation that followed him to the crease, where a much bigger job than clowning around with the crowd awaited.Stephen Cook, South Africas most unsure batsman on this tour, had faced 51 balls, most of them uncertainly. He was lucky to be there at all after being reprieved by a no-ball and was fighting his own battle. Someone else needed to fight South Africas. The same someone who has fought it throughout the series. The skipper.Australia were more up for it than they had been since the opening day in Perth, even with different personnel. Jackson Bird found the right length for the first time when he drew an edge from du Plessis but it fell short of the cordon. Mitchell Starc exploited the bounce and got du Plessis to fend one into his ribs but the only damage that was done was to his eardrums when he was booed (again) after retrieving the ball and handing it back to the bowler.When du Plessis did that against Australia before, at home during the 2014 Test encounter, they took such exception that he said they were as territorial as a pack of dogs. This time the opposition didnt say anything but their supporters did. They hounded du Plessis with hostility without realising they were helping him along. His flick and drive came out early and he had scored 20 runs from his first 19 deliveries, unusually quick for a batsman who is known to take his time. He slowed against the spin, especially after Nathan Lyon beat the inside edge with one that ripped back in.The early turn would not have worried du Plessis as much as it would have encouraged him, knowing Tabraiz Shamsi was on hand to make use of it later. His declaration with 12 overs remaining in the day was nothing if not sporting but it would not have been possible if he hadnt scored the runs that allowed him to end the innings early.Du Plessis was the only South African who had some measure of the movement - and there was plenty with the pink ball - and the only one who really had something to prove, besides Cook. In hindsight Cooks 40 was worth a lot more than it seemed when he offered a catch to Steven Smith at second slip and succumbed to Starc. Cooks was a demonstration of determination; du Plessis was one of defiance.By the time he got to fifty, hed had his fair share of fortune. Three edges had fallen short and he saw a drive burst through Birds hand as the bowler followed through. He was booed and cheered in equal measure and raised his bat without much fanfare. At 130 for 5, South Africa were still in some trouble and they were down to their last recognised pair. Nineteen runs later, Australia were into the tail but now du Plessis stepped up.He started playing the ball later and trusting his timing more. He cut with confidence and forced Australia to bowl full, eventually to overpitch, then he treated the Adelaide audience to the best drives they saw all day. Both were off Josh Hazlewood, both on the front foot, both through the off side and together they took him a shot away from a second century at this venue. He needed more, though, and lost Kyle Abbott in the process, but paddle-swept and sprinted a brace with Kagiso Rabada to earn vindication. Amid the boos, the appreciative applause filtered through.It was not the same kind that du Plessis got four years ago, when he topped up on the first-innings 78 with a fighting 110 not out to draw the game. Then, Australians were in awe. This time, his effort was far feistier and the locals were entertained and annoyed all at the same time. More so when du Plessis took the attack to them after the milestone, with a plan to try and unsettle Australia by putting them in at the end of the day.That move may turn out to be prematurely arrogant but, as things stand, it spoke of du Plessis chutzpah as a captain. It is a job he may be doing for the last time in Tests, with the return of AB de Villiers imminent. That also meant, as much as du Plessis was playing to make a point, he was also playing for his place.A South Africa middle-order of de Villiers, du Plessis and JP Duminy reads like a dream but there is only really space for two of them. Du Plessis and Duminy know as much from last season when they took turns being dropped. They have both scored runs in de Villiers absence - Duminy 88 against New Zealand, du Plessis 112 not out, Duminy 141 against Australia, du Plessis 118 not out - and they are both making telling contributions as seniors. At some point someone will have to make a choice between them but for the rest of this series, never mind all that.Custom Blue Jackets Jersey China . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Custom Blue Jackets T-shirts . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. http://www.custombluejacketsjersey.com/ . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Authentic Custom Blue Jackets Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Custom Blue Jackets Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.Bruce Bochy and Dave Roberts manage rival teams in the NL West, but they can probably agree on one thing: A no-hitter is no easy spot for a manager.Roberts caused quite a stir Saturday night when he pulled Los Angeles Dodgers starter Rich Hill after seven innings, even though the left-hander was working on a perfect game. Hill has been bothered by a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. The Dodgers eventually allowed two hits after Hills departure.Last month, Bochy was pacing around the dugout as San Franciscos Matt Moore closed in on a no-hitter. Bochy let Moore -- who missed most of the last two seasons after Tommy John surgery -- stay in until he allowed his first hit with two outs in the ninth. Moore threw 133 pitches.Now that managers are more sensitive to high pitch counts, a no-hitter in progress can become pretty stressful.Theyre not used to throwing 120, 130 pitches. You have guys that sometimes have had injuries in their career that youre concerned about, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Sometimes as a manager, you want to see it take place, you want to see a guy have a perfect game and you want to see a guy have a no-hitter. But theres part of you that says you dont want to be in that situation.Roberts had to take into account Hills health problems and the Dodgers playoff prospects, weighing all of that against Hills opportunity to accomplish something special. Managers around baseball understood the move -- and so did Cleveland right-hander Corey Kluber.Its probably disappointing at that point in time, but theyre playing for more than just one game, Kluber said. Theyre trying to get him lined up to be a big part of their team for the playoffs, Id imagine. I think that ultimately when you look at it, thats the reason, and its hard to argue with it.Detroit manager Brad Ausmus pulled lefty Daniel Norris after five perfect innings last year, but there was little controversy abouut that because Norris was on a pitch count following an oblique strain.ddddddddddddAusmus said the score can also factor into the decision.If its a close game and its a guy thats pitch count is climbing, I think ultimately youve got to make the decision if you think its the best way the team can win a game, Ausmus said. Its about amassing wins, not amassing no-hitters.Hill had thrown 89 pitches when he was taken out.Here are a few other developments from around baseball:DOWN TO THE WIREOnly five of the 15 teams in the American League are under .500, so theres quite a race on for the postseason spots. The AL East is particularly wild, with Boston leading Toronto and Baltimore by two games. The New York Yankees are another two games back.The Blue Jays and Orioles currently occupy the wild cards, but Detroit is a couple games behind, tied with the Yankees. Seattle and Houston are 1 1/2 games further behind, and its another half-game back to Kansas City.So thats 10 teams either occupying a postseason spot or within four games of one.CLINCHING TIMEThe Chicago Cubs have a chance to wrap up the NL Central in St. Louis at the home of the rival Cardinals. Chicagos magic number is five heading into a three-game series at St. Louis that starts Monday.FANTASY FOCUSFantasy owners probably didnt mind that much when Hill was pulled from his perfect game bid. It was only his third start since the beginning of August -- and the first time hed thrown seven innings since May 23. A step in the right direction, to say the least.LINE OF THE WEEKHill is the pick here, although Colorados Chad Bettis earns an honorable mention for his two-hitter against San Francisco on Monday.---AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York and AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report. ' ' '