Dale Steyn becomes second fastest bowler to 350 Test wickets

[rkt.india]

South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn claimed his 350th Test victim on Monday that made him the joint second fastest to the landmark and en route earned his team a series-winning victory against India in Durban. Steyn equalled the likes of Richard Hadlee to the second spot in his 69th Test, only behind Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan. Steyn dismissed Indian tailender Ishant Sharma off a nasty short ball on the final day of the second Test, which South Africa won by 10 wickets to strengthen their position as the number-one Test team. The feat, coming in Jacques Kallis' farewell Test, made Steyn the fastest South African to take 350 wickets - beating Shaun Pollock who did it in 86 Tests. Steyn took a match-haul of nine wickets in the Test - 6 for 100 in the first innings and 3 for 47 in the second. Steyn's overall Test record: 69 Tests, 350 wickets, average 23.07, strike rate 42.2. He has taken 21 five-wicket hauls and a match-haul of 10 wickets five times. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cricketnext/dale-steyn-becomes-second-fastest-bowler-to-350-test-wickets/442435-78.html

Brilliant bowler. :hatsoff:

[vvvslaxman]

Salute to him. This pitch had some life. But it required some effort to extract it. Steyn could do that

[Number]

At his absolute peak this guy.

[prinzo]

Hope he can get to 500 wickets.

[putrevus]

He got very lucky on first day along with his team due that moronic umpires.

[prinzo]

He got very lucky on first day along with his team due that moronic umpires.

blame BCCI

[Brainfade]

And he does it with a straight arm (unlike the guy who got to 350 sooner). Great, great bowler when focused and in full flow. His way he uses his wrist just prior to releasing the ball is a lesson for all fast bowlers. That said, I was happy to see our guys blunt him in the first match. Overall, the DS vs. Indian batting match-up was a draw in this series.

[rkt.india]

He epitomizes what fast bowling is.

[vvvslaxman]

He epitomizes what fast bowling is.

swithcing ON switching OFF seamlessly

[putrevus]

blame BCCI

why did they ask umpires to walk out in perfect light.Proteas got extremely lucky this match everything went on their way.

[Number]

Hope he can get to 500 wickets.

Will get there easily at this rate. Although a lot of them against Pakistan, 51 wickets in 9 tests this year. Remains to be seen how he bowls after his peak, that will decide whether he catches up with McGrath.

[I6MTW]

Is there any chance he can break Muralitharan's record of 800 wickets?

[ThePhenomenal1]

To be honest, there were only a few corkers that got our batsmen out. Most of our wickets were gifts to SA. Robin Peterson are you kidding me? Rohit almost always gave his wicket away, as did jadeja and dhoni.

[ThePhenomenal1]

Congrats to steyn btw, was great to have this contest

[Manny_Pacquiao]

i have a lot of respect for the guy, but does anyone think that he is on the decline? india's batsmen played him pretty comfortably =...he didn't look anywhere near as menacing as he did in 2010/11, when most indian batsmen struggled to put bat to ball on him and had to play him out. that was some of the best bowling i have ever seen.

[vvvslaxman]

i have a lot of respect for the guy, but does anyone think that he is on the decline? india's batsmen played him pretty comfortably =...he didn't look anywhere near as menacing as he did in 2010/11, when most indian batsmen struggled to put bat to ball on him and had to play him out. that was some of the best bowling i have ever seen.

Kohli , Pujara on the rise is not automatically equivalent to Steyn's decline

[South_Paw]

Is there any chance he can break Muralitharan's record of 800 wickets?

Not only him, none of the fast bowlers ever will break that record.

[Vijy]

Not only him' date=' none of the fast bowlers ever will break that record.[/quote'] Murali's 800 is a bowling record that will never ever be broken. The same also holds true for Laker's 19 in the match.

[Ram]

For a genuine quick to have a body that is durable enough to take 350 test scalps is remarkable. Obviously, he is not going to pass Warne or Murali in the overall tally and he may not even cross Mcgrath, to me, he is still the best bowler of our generation. You success should always be measured against the likelihood of that happening or not happening. Dale Steyn’s body is not supposed to last him 350 test wickets, bowling the way he does. Ask Ian Bishop, ask Brett Lee, ask Shoaib, ask Shane Bond, ask Jermaine Taylor. A lot bowlers have bowled fast but very few bowl fast and last for as long as Dale has had. Remarkable cricketer! As an opposition fan, his retirement couldn’t come soon enough!

[zep1706]

Ask Ian Bishop, ask Brett Lee, ask Shoaib, ask Shane Bond, ask Jermaine Taylor. A lot bowlers have bowled fast but very few bowl fast and last for as long as Dale has had. Remarkable cricketer! As an opposition fan, his retirement couldn’t come soon enough!

Dale Steyn is not that fast. The max he can bowl is 90-92 mph. Which 5-6 mph slower that what Lee or Akhter used to bowl. Now a days he bowls at around 87-88 mp most of the time which is fast but by no means express. He also has a very good bowling action which is not high impact. He is going to last for a few more years. I expect him to play at the top of his level for at least 4 more years.