Superb Steyn’s exceptional record in India

[zen]

Tea: India - 221/4 in 57.0 overs (S Badrinath 56, MS Dhoni 6) Innings Break: India - 233/10 in 64.4 overs (I Sharma 0) ^ we can see the effect, SA needed only 7.4 overs to finsih the lower order .... credit to Steyn though for making full use of it

[The Outsider]

Steyn bowled magnificently. Reminded me of some of the spells Holding bowled in India in the early 80s, Hadlee in '87, and Gillespie in '04. It wasn't the pace for all the speed gun fanatics here, it was his ability to move the ball both ways from a wonderful line and length. He was in the mid to high 130s for the most part. Not much batsmen can do when caught in the midst of such a spell specially when coming out new. That's the reason I feel Sehwag and Badrinath throwing away their wickets was a cardinal sin. South Africa were starting to feel flustered and a bit more application from the two could have easily taken India beyond 300 from where saving the test would have been a distinct possibility. But they gave Steyn the opening and boy did he exploit it.

[Lord]

initially i did not rate him.but boy has he proved me wrong.he was unplayable today.fast,swinging n accurate.quite often the best figures by a bowler dont represent the best bowling hes done in his career.but i dont think Steyn has bowled better than he did today

[Ram]

Speechless is the word I am looking for us, partly because I am still reeling in shock from our team's precarious position and mainly because I have rarely seen a visiting fast bowler put on such a dominating show in India. He pwned our batting today.

[Cricketics]

Fantastic bowler. As a bowler myself, I love to watch Steyn's bowling. Continuously he swung and kept changing his line and length and confused the batsman. The amount of 5fers he has taken easily suggest how fantastic he has been throughout his mini career. More success to him. Brilliant bowler.

[Gambit]

Donald was awesome in India as well. Steyn is a worthy successor to white lightening. Donald was consistently fiery and menacing though whereas Steyn does tend to compromise pace for accurary.

[Feed]

"Duo's wickets most satisfying": Steyn Dale Steyn said the scalps of Tendulkar and Vijay gave him the most satisfaction because of the planning that went behind them. More... Monday 8th February 2010 "Duo's wickets most satisfying" Dale Steyn said the scalps of Tendulkar and Vijay gave him the most satisfaction because of the planning that went behind them. "That one (Sachin Tendulkar's wicket) and Murali Vijay just before him (were special)," said the 26-year-old pacer at the end of third day's play. "I worked him (Vijay) out quite nicely with two balls that went away and then bringing one back which he left (to see it hit the stumps). That kind of stuff just doesn't happen out in the middle. We've really planned it, that kind of stuff," explained the pacer. Steyn said it was important to set the field positions right and that's the reason these dismissals were special. "It's a challenge for the captain too to make sure the fielders are in the right position for those specific deliveries as well. That makes those wickets so sweet," Steyn said. He said coach Corrie van Zyl was not happy with the bowlers' efforts in the middle session and during the tea break, he asked them to lift their performance. "Corrie sat us down at tea and said that the session after lunch wasn't good enough. We didn't get the wickets that we wanted and we went for a few runs. He asked us to lift it up a little bit," Steyn said. "Corrie said from tea onwards is what really defines a player. You've already been out in the field four hours and now you've got to go and do another two. When you come to India, the days do tend to get warm and there's no real movement off the deck. There's nothing really happening. So little speeches like that can lift the players a lot," he said. Steyn said the ball, that was changed post-tea, started to reverse swing which helped his cause. "We had the ball changed because the one we were using had split open, and once it started to reverse and we got one or two lucky dismissals, it just started a roll. Good planning as well with the ball and I think the execution was good," he said about his devastating spell of five for three in 3.4 overs soon after tea. The pacer, who is eight short of completing 200 Test wickets after today's magical spell, said the team members had talked about the importance of reverse swing in Indian conditions and on pitches which don't offer lateral movement. "Before the Test started, we said that reverse swing was going to be a key on these flat pitches. You're not going to get a lot of sideways movement off the wicket. There's not a lot of grass on them. You've got to rely on getting the ball to do something through the air," he said. "I said before that a ball bowled at 145, a yorker, whether it's in Jo'burg or Nagpur, is still 145 in the air."

[dial_100]

Yup... Accuracy is the key. I have seen Ashish nehra bowling above 140 and swinging. But with Steyn, accuracy is what's getting him wickets. He uses his crease so well. One ball, pitching just little short of a good length, 6" out side off and comming back in. Next ball, one foot wider of the crease, pitching exact same spot giving impression that it is going to hit middle stump, but actually swinging out. Awesome stuff. I think exact same technique he used to get SRT out in the first innings. But they both were out swingers. Nice one foot wider of the crease, hitting exact same spot and again swinging out. Even SRT went on to play this one to nick back. Just awesome.... Great bowling to watch. IF ishant sharma spends 1 year watching this guy and builing on physical strength, he could be great asset for us. But hard work is what is needed. SRT, RD and VVS are great batsmen because they have worked very hard on their weaknesses. Ishant it is your time to do something boy.

[Deleted_User_1]

Steyn is a class act. You have to give credit where credit is due. Some of the balls he bowled as if he was reading the batsman's mind. The bowling gap between SA and India is almost night and day.

[retterimp]

superb stuff..watched some class bowling after many months against a strong batting lineup, thats what test cricket is all about. i reckon he wud have pulled it off even without morkels support at the other end. first i thought he was getting good support which provided him confidence. but after watching him just run through, he pretty much pulled off a one-man demolition job.

[ludhianvi]

I was really impressed with his seam position. The sequence of deliveries to get out Tendulkar was great to watch. He really setup Tendulkar with some great deliveries.

[King Tendulkar]

He owns us. No question about it. Awesome performance from the best fast bowler in the world. 7 for 51.

Fast??? Where did you get that from? I keep being told he is a medium pacer:giggle:

[Jersey #10]

May be Indian bowlers could learn something from this

[Jersey #10]

Badrinath can score 0 in 200 balls and he will stabilize his place in the XI

[rkt.india]

Fast??? Where did you get that from? I keep being told he is a medium pacer:giggle:

He is a genuine fast bowler bowls upto 150

[achilles]

Steyn seems to be one of the few players who can back his verbal jibes in the media with his performances on the field :adore:

[Dhondy]

Gambo, I still remember Steyn's reaction after hitting the top of the ranking charts a few years ago. You'd think he'd hold forth on his hard work like Ishant did after a few wickets against BD, wouldn't you? No, all he said was how insecure he had felt with Morkel's giant breath on his back. His recurring nightmare was losing his place in the national side to Morkel. And he'd do anything to keep his place. That kind of insecurity separates the greats from the also rans. Not just cricket, the best men in any business are the most insecure ones. They just hide it well. I don't see that kind of insecurity in our new lot. And can you blame them? They are already rich beyond their wildest dreams, a clone of Pollards blighting the landscape, blurring the margins between the good, the mediocre and the frankly rubbish.

[Feed]

Superb Steyn’s exceptional record in India More... Superb Steyn’s exceptional record in India S. Ram Mahesh The speedster has been penetrative in conditions that tax his craftsmanship PACE ACE: Dale Steyn, who epitomises a classic fast bowler with an amalgam of balanced run-up and effortless action, has reaped rich returns in the sub-continent during his short career for South Africa. NAGPUR: Nothing tests a fast-bowler as rigorously as a tour of the subcontinent. It examines every aspect of his craft and character — the strength of his will, the extent of his ingenuity, the robustness of his action, the limit of his stamina. Dale Steyn has done many great things in his six-year-career, including bowl South Africa to victory over Australia in Australia. But it is his exceptional record in the subcontinent, particularly in India, that authenticates his standing as the world’s best. Steyn has taken 25 wickets in four Tests in India, striking at a rate of roughly a wicket every 29 balls. Few fast-bowlers have been as penetrative in conditions that so severely tax their craftsmanship. During his previous visit, in 2008, he devastated India on the first morning of the Ahmedabad Test with a five-wicket burst. His recent 10-wicket haul in Nagpur, just as debilitating, was possibly an even more consummate feat. The measure of a bowler is best had from the batsmen that play him. Revealing comments M.S. Dhoni said Steyn’s performance was the best display of conventional swing bowling in India in recent memory, while Virender Sehwag described the 26-year-old as the best and most dangerous bowler he has faced in his career. These are revealing comments, for they speak of both skill and menace: gifts given only to the very best fast-bowlers. There’s plenty to admire about Steyn’s bowling. He arrives at the crease from a supremely balanced run-up; there’s no straining for effect or effort. Everything is directed at the batsman as he sets up for delivery. Till this point it’s magnificently minimalist, the energy stored in the wind-up and the fast-twitch muscles Steyn is blessed with guaranteed to generate high pace. What Steyn does next sets him apart, for it makes irrelevant the playing surface. With subtle manipulation of wrist and hand angle at release, Steyn gets the ball to do his bidding through the air. Sunil Gavaskar compared Steyn’s out-swinger — a delivery that veers late off course, in the last third of its journey — to Kapil Dev’s, only quicker. The South African also bowls an arcing in-swinger, which he can get to go from the same line as his out-swinger — not as easy a task as it may appear. This is a delivery that he has added recently. To his credit he hasn’t lost his stock ball in the quest for other gains. The fact that Steyn has been able to produce conventional swing in Nagpur, which hardly has the water-charged atmosphere that breeds swing, and that too with an unfamiliar ball, the SG Test, further elevates his achievement. The combination of genuine pace, curving swing, and impeccable control makes him extremely difficult to line up for the batsman, a difficulty he compounds by imperceptibly changing his position at the crease. It’s no wonder that he constantly questions a batsman’s knowledge of his location relative to the stumps. “When (Glenn) McGrath used to bowl around the off-stump it was always difficult to leave the ball, and that’s what is happening with Steyn,” said Dhoni, shedding light on the challenges Steyn poses. “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 have to do. It’s not easy to decide whether to play or leave him.” Confidence and control There are other elements to Steyn’s bowling. Because of his confidence in the repeatability of his action — and the control it confers on his bowling — he can implement plans others can only talk wistfully of. It isn’t difficult to establish theoretically how a batsman may be suckered by a sequence of out-swingers for the in-swinger or how by drawing closer to the umpire and pitching an out-swinger marginally shorter, one may force a batsman to stretch beyond his means. But to do it — as Steyn did to M. Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar respectively — is beyond most. Consider that Steyn has studied the dark arts of reverse swing, trained his body so he doesn’t drop pace through a day’s bowling, and often found a higher level against great batsmen, and it’s clear he’s the sort of champion that doesn’t come around often.

[vvvslaxman]

All SA fast bowlers have decent record in India. Donald, Pollock, Steyn, Klusener.