DALE STEYN - THE DEMI-GOD

Right from the time when I started watching cricket in 1997-98, one thing which thrilled me was fast bowling. I was a big fan of Pakistani bowling unit, which comprised of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. The glorious site of stumps being rattled and batsmen getting themselves saved from the fiery bouncers amused me a lot. To me, aggression was bowling fast. As a teenager, I started understanding the different aspects of game, yet fast bowling had that X factor which attracted me towards this game. When I started following the game closely, I learnt that fast bowling, not only meant bowling at good pace, but also hitting the consistent lengths.

In the early 2000s, Brett Lee and Zaheer khan inspired me a lot. Thanks to their unique action. Former was quick, while the latter was more accurate. 2003 World cup was an absolute treat for me. Though batsmen had a lot of knocks to cherish, I can still relive the moments which Indian fast bowlers produced in the tournament. In addition to the Indian pace arsenal, Brett Lee’s pacy thunderbolts, Vaas’ deadly in swingers, McGrath’s consistent line and lengths, Shane Bond’s economic as well as attacking spells made the world cup, a special edition to me.

As the days passed by, my passion towards this game kept growing. It was December 2004. England toured Proteas for a five match test series. SA, batting first notched up a decent first innings score of 337. In reply, England started well with Strauss and Trescothick providing a 150-run opening stand. The score was 152/0.

That was the time, the world saw the first glimpse of Dale William Steyn, as he got rid of Trescothick right through his defence with a fiery in swinger. More than that, it was his wild celebration which announced his arrival to the cricket.

“When he celebrates the veins pop out of his head, the eyes get big. When the eyes get big, he runs through the teams” – Allan Donald

 Steyn accumulated 8 wickets in his first 3 matches. After that he didn’t get to play test matches until 2006. In April 2006, he was called up for the test series against NZ. He proved his worth in his very first comeback test, by picking up his first 5-fer in the 4^th innings which helped his side to seal the match. From thereon it was a fairytale journey for him. His ability to swing the ball in both the ways at higher pace made him a lethal customer. Till date, he has the best strike rate for any bowler who has more than 200 test wickets. He was the numero Uno bowler in ICC bowling ratings for a whooping 263 weeks and was a top 5 candidate for a long stretch of 8 years. These stats prove his legacy. He was very much effective in Asian subcontinent as well, as he has 92 scalps under his name, the most for any visiting bowler. He was a complete package as he possessed swing, pace, aggression and I was just amazed with his skills. I started viewing all his videos, and I was so much attracted towards him such that I even started mimicking his bowing style. He was a demi-god to me.

DALE STEYN AFTER HIS LAST 5-FER

But as the case with all the athletes, things weren’t smooth for Dale Steyn post 2015. In the later part of 2015, he had groin and shoulder spasms which kept him in and out of the team. In 2016, he fractured his right shoulder in Australia. A player who played 48 consecutive tests for SA had to miss out on the next 15 test matches. Battling all these injuries, he made a comeback in 2018 against India. But much to his misfortunes, he injured his heel in the very first test match, forcing him to stay out of the entire series. In 2015, Steyn picked his 400^th test wicket, but due to these injuries he could only pick 39 more wickets, before deciding to call it a day from the longer format of the game in 2019. Yes, you read it right. For the next 4 years he was able to manage only 39 wickets. Such was the impact that injuries had on his career. Inspite of all, he is still the leading wicket taker for SA. He is also the second fastest to achieve the record of 400 test wickets.

He is very economical in limited circuit as well. His economy of 4.87 in ODI and 6.7 in IPL supports the fact. He also bowled 211 dots in 2013 IPL, the best for any bowler in a single edition of the tournament.

“Dale Steyn was the best bowler of our generation. Used to admire him.”    Zaheer Khan

 Not only known for his cricketing skills, he is also favorite with his off-field activities. He is multi-faceted and has showcased his skills in Surfing, Trekking, Photography and Music.

SURFING AND CAPTURING ALPS

STEYN'S PHOTOGRAPHY

To me, he is one of the greatest inspirations that one can have.

Happy Birthday Dale Steyn.

Keep inspiring us.