Dale Steyn special – His top five bowling spells in Test cricket
Dale Steyn, one of the greatest fast bowlers, announced his retirement from Test cricket yesterday (5th August). With 439 wickets from just 93 Tests, the South African bowler was a nightmare for batsmen during his 15-year long career. Here are five best Test spells delivered by the fast bowler.
6/34 vs West Indies, Centurion, December 2014
In the first Test of the 2014 tour, the West Indian batting line-up had to deal with the Steyn-gun. On the back of Amla’s 208 and AB de Villiers’ 152, the hosts posted 552/5 decl. by the end of day two. Philander with a four-wicket haul ensured that West Indies had to follow-on. On the fourth day morning, Steyn crashed through the West Indian batting line-up to secure the win. The visitors ended up 131 all out after being 87/2 at one stage. Steyn registered the figures of 8.2-2-34-6.
5/23 vs India, Ahmedabad, April 2018
After a run-feast at Chennai in the first Test, the Indian batsmen were in for a rude shock at Motera, Ahmedabad. On the first morning of the Test, Steyn ripped them apart as the host side succumbed to 76 all out in just 20 overs. They did not even last a session. His spell of 5/23 did enough for South Africa to register a win by an innings and 90 runs.
6/49 vs New Zealand, Centurion, November 2007
Steyn was on fire in this two-match Test series against New Zealand at home. In two games, he picked up 20 wickets, taking 10 in each. His best spell was in the second Test where the Kiwis were following on. Steyn had already taken 4/42 in the first innings. He then sent back the openers in the second innings and returned with even more fire. The pace bowler added four more wickets to his kitty to drown New Zealand from 117/4 to 136 all out. He was named player of the match and player of the series for his stunning performance.
7/51 vs India, Nagpur, February 2010
When South Africa posted 558/6 in their first innings, it felt as if the Nagpur track was a graveyard for the bowlers. Dale Steyn extracted life from it and used it blow away the Indian batting lineup. After pocketing the wickets of Murali Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar early, Steyn returned for a masterful spell with the ball ready to reverse-swing. From 221/5, India ended at 233 all out with Steyn taking all five of the remaining wickets. He took another three wickets in the next innings.
6/8 vs Pakistan, Johannesburg, February 2013
In the first Test of the series, Pakistan managed to bowl out South Africa for just 253 runs and went into the second day confidently at 6/0. Steyn instantaneously sent back Mohammad Hafeez, whom Steyn would dismiss a total of 15 times in international cricket. He kept attacking relentlessly and ended up with astonishing bowling figures of 8.1-6-8-6. Pakistan were all out for 49. South Africa ended up winning the game by 211 runs.
