Throwback - Dale Steyn’s devastation in Nagpur

Test cricket in the sub-continent can be a real test of patience, stamina, and heart of a bowler. In conditions which would offer next to nothing, under the searing summer sun, with the batsmen feasting on the lifeless tracks, life can easily become depressing for a bowler, even more so if you are a paceman running in for yards, only to see a batsman block a seemingly good delivery with utmost comfort.

There have been generations of fast bowlers who have toured the sub-continent, only to return to their homeland with abject disappointment. But, Dale Steyn is different. With a natural action that seems to produce the outswinger at will, combined with a deadly pace, Steyn is a weapon regardless of the conditions at play. Add to that his ability to reverse the old ball in Test cricket, there were only a few occasions where his spells would not produce excitement in the Protean camp and terror in the opposition dressing room.

Case in point, the Test match between India and South Africa in Nagpur in 2010. On a flat track, the South African batsmen had made merry. Hashim Amla had scored a double century and former RCB all-rounder Jacques Kallis with his 173 had blunted the Indian bowling, piling on 558 in the first innings. When it came to South Africa’s turn to bowl, Steyn quickly knocked over Murali Vijay and the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. But, Virender Sehwag blazed away. A century in double quick time by Test match standards, but just another day in the office by his own standards, putting up a partnership with a debuting S Badrinath meant India were fighting strong. 

When the teams came back out after tea, India were on 221/4, Badrinath and Dhoni at the crease. Steyn had one big spell left in him in the intense, dry Nagpur heat. But, Steyn turned it up a notch. In his first over after tea, Steyn knocked over the two Indian debutants - Badrinath and Wriddhiman Saha. Steyn’s prodigious reverse swing was too hot to handle for the Indian lower order, and the innings crumbled. Steyn bowled 22 balls post-tea on Day 3 of the Test match, and in those 22, he conceded 3 runs and knocked over 5 Indian batsmen. Steyn had picked up 7 wickets in the first innings of a Test match in India. He added 3 more to the total in the second innings including that of the dangerous Virender Sehwag to take his tally for the match to 10. To this day, no other South African fast bowler has taken 10 wickets in a Test match in the sub-continent. Such was the devastation of Steyn that South Africa beat India by an innings and 6 runs.

Steyn’s spell earned him comparisons to the Australian great, Glenn Mcgrath from the Indian skipper MS Dhoni who said, "When McGrath used to bowl around the off-stump it was always difficult to leave the ball, and that's what is happening with Steyn. He was getting the ball to go away and from the same spot, he was getting it to go in. You just get a fraction of a second to make up your mind and decide what you're planning to do.”