South African wrecker-in-chief says he was lucky that his plans for the indian batsmen worked in his favour
South African wrecker-in-chief says he was lucky that his plans for the Indian batsmen worked in his favour
Three of the first four deliveries that Dale Steyn bowled yesterday were quick in-swingers, the first of which struck Virender Sehwag's hand with serious impact.
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| South Africa's Dale Steyn celebrates an Indian wicket on Day One of the second Test match at Kingsmead yesterday. Pic/Getty Images |
The next two were steered away to the mid-wicket region by the Delhi opener. Steyn was slowly but surely setting up the Indian batsmen with his 'boomerang' out-swingers, the ones that pitch on middle and leg and cut through the off in a flash.
In fact, even the balls that were back of a length were swinging away from the bat.
It was this art that made Kapil Dev a household name. Steyn is carving out a legacy for himself. So how much skill is required to swing the ball from middle and leg to off?
Difficult"It is a very difficult skill to master. It's a big gamble as a bowler because if you get it wrong, the batsman can easily steer you away through the on-side," Steyn said.
"I am very lucky that I could get the ball to do that. You cannot try and do that on a daily basis. I have to respect my captain's plans. Like I said, if it doesn't work, you are going to get clipped through the leg-side. You can't be a hero every ball. Today was one of those days when I could afford to because there was so much swing in the air," added Steyn.
VVS Laxman, who top-scored for India with 38, reckons Steyn is now in the same league as Allan Donald, Wasim Akram and Shaun Pollock. "He (Steyn) is right up there. Both Steyn and Morne Morkel are among the best I have faced in my career. They are top-class performers for South Africa," he said after play was called off due to bad light.
