Dale Steyn is probably one of the most effective fast bowlers South Africa has produced till date. The speedster, however, waswas ne known for his batting, let alone reviving his team after a batting collapse with a sensible inning. Not until now. In the 2nd ODI of the series against Zimbabwe, Steyn saved South Africa from embarrassment. The batsman, who had not scored a single fifty in his 50-over game career (domestic or international), rose to the occasion when his team did not expect him to.
The 35-year-old could not have expected his ODI comeback to be like this. The No. 9 batsman came to the crease when South Africa were struggling at 101 for 7 in the 26th over.
Steyn stitched a partnership with all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo to rebuild the innings. After a gritty 75-run partnership for the 8th wicket, Steyn batted with tailenders Imran Tahir and Lungi Ngidi till the 48th over.
On a pitch which was troublesome for the batsmen, the visitors managed to put on 198 on the scoreboard, which gave them momentum before taking the field in the second innings.
He scored 60 runs off 85 deliveries including 8 fours and 1 six. This is the highest score by a South African No. 9 batsman in ODIs and 10th highest overall. The partnership he shared with Phehlukwayo is also the 6th highest 8th wicket partnership for South Africa in ODIs.
Here’s what Steyn had to say about his innings,
I don’t know what to say (laughs on getting the MoM for his batting). The wicket was quite tough and myself and Andile built up a good partnership. In the County season you are always batting, but the good thing is that I am playing a lot of cricket these days. My last game was two weeks ago and I feel cricket fit. While bowling I couldn’t feel my fingers, they were freezing! I was looking to hit the deck hard and the Zimbabweans found it tough. Our batters found it tough too and they bowled really well at the start. I hope it gets better at Paarl.
Before this innings, Steyn had scored just 298 runs in 48 innings at an average of 9.67. His previous highest score was 35 against India in 2010. Out of the 48 innings, he managed to score in double digits 11 times only.
Here’s how Twitter responded to his astonishing comeback:
Life’s just getting started for Dale Steyn at 35.#SAvZIM pic.twitter.com/zaCkKR6oC0
— Pratyush Sinha (@prat1204) October 3, 2018
Unexpected Comeback From Dale Steyn! #SAvZIM #ZIMvSA pic.twitter.com/Osf7kuUFDO
— CricFit (@CricFit) October 3, 2018
Dale Steyn hitting a solid 60.
SA end on 198 runs.
ZIM need 199 runs to win. pic.twitter.com/V3txz9VYVN— TweetGuru (@justkholii__) October 3, 2018
Dale Steyn is in the house people, 8 repeat, Dale Steyn is is the house!! #SAvZIM pic.twitter.com/XYozd1AGA5
— Tevin (@Tevin8r) October 3, 2018
DALE STEYN Doing the things that make the win to be done #SAvZIM pic.twitter.com/bJZejCnGfL
— (@I_am_SIRHC) October 3, 2018
Somebody give Dale Steyn bells pic.twitter.com/GYTp1ObpP4
— Born to suffer (@MoloksKcc) October 3, 2018
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He did well with the ball too, picking up the wicket of opener Solomon Mire and Craig Ervine early on in the innings. His first spell to make it tough for Zimbabwe to get off to a good start. As a result, hosts got bundled out for just 78 runs thanks to Imran Tahir’s hat-trick and lost the match by 120 runs.
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