Faf du Plessis admits he’s in the form of his life after picking up the Man of the Series during SA’s whitewash against Sri Lanka. 

The Proteas completed a 5-0 victory on Friday in Centurion in a consecutive ODI whitewash series after beating Australia 5-0 in September-October 2016.

Du Plessis was outstanding in this series and was by far the highest-scoring batsman. He picked up 410 runs including two centuries and one half-century. One of those tons was his record-breaking 185 at Newlands which saw him set the highest total scored at the Cape Town-based ground.

The 32-year-old, who spoke about his desire of becoming a great player after going 4-0 up at Newlands, said he’s been in the best form of his life.

‘This has possibly been my best purple patch,’ said Du Plessis.

‘It’s learning the process to try and understand what I am doing really well. After a good performance, I try to make sure that I don’t rely on what I did in the previous innings and start over, trying to find out what made it successful.

‘Obviously, there’s no guarantees in life, but my blueprint of batting seems to be working really well.

‘I try and make sure that I’m smart in the way I prepare and that I’m ready for international cricket. When you’re in a place like this, it’s very important that you cash in, because the tide will turn again.’

The Proteas will face New Zealand next, who’s in-form bowling pair of Tim Southee and Trent Bould have been largely responsible for their recent ODI success. Boult picked up eight wickets in two matches during their 2-0 series win over Australia in February.

The Proteas will play their first ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton on 19 February.