Birthday special: Dale Steyn – Top 3 spells from his Test career
Dale Steyn is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of his generation. The wiry figure of Steyn terrorized opposition batters with his aggressive bowling, and his trademark chainsaw celebration was a sight to behold. The former South African quick was lethal in the longest format of the game and finished with 439 wickets in just 93 matches. He was a part of the ICC Test Team of the Year for six consecutive years between 2008 to 2014, and as the Proteas pacer turns 39 today, we take a look at three of his most amazing bowling performances in Tests.
6 for 34 against West Indies, 2014
Steyn was in a menacing mood in the first Test against West Indies in Centurion in 2014. He was unlucky to go wicketless in the first innings but made amends for it in the second innings. Steyn made a mockery of the West Indies middle order as he sent packing the experienced quartet of Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin, and Jerome Taylor. The first bowler grabbed six wickets in his eight overs as South Africa defeated the visitors by an innings and 220 runs.
6 for 8 against Pakistan, 2013
The South African team welcomed a spirited Pakistan side to the African shores for a Test series in 2013. The series opener was played at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. South Africa were bundled out for 253 runs in the first inning. But what followed was pure chaos as Dale Steyn ran through the Pakistani batting lineup in an instant. Steyn accounted for six of the Pakistani batters in his eight overs by conceding just six runs. An unbelievable bowling figure that saw Pakistan succumb to a lowly total of 49 runs. The fast bowling great returned to pick another fifer in the second innings and was named man of the match for his 11 wickets in the game as South Africa won the Test by a whopping 211 runs.
7 for 51 against India, 2010
The South African juggernaut traveled to India in their quest for a series victory against the subcontinent nation. South Arica completed a resounding victory by an innings and six runs in the series opener at Nagpur, thanks to a scintillating performance by their star pacer, Dale Steyn. Steyn broke the back of the Indian batting line-up by picking up seven wickets in the first innings and then followed up with another three in the second innings to record ten wickets in the match. This was perhaps his most impressive outing as a bowler as all the other pacers failed to impress on the spin-friendly track.
