Former South African fast bowling legend, Dale Steyn, is an all-time great as he was consistent in every format of the game. His exploits in limited-overs cricket were as impressive as his performances in Test cricket. This unparalleled skill to adapt to the challenges of different formats made him special and established him in a league of his own. In this article, we will take a look at Dale Steyn’s top 3 bowling performances in ODI cricket.
6/39 vs Pakistan, 2013
This is the best bowling spell delivered by Dale Steyn in ODI cricket which outfoxed Pakistan batters. The South African captain, AB De Villiers won the toss and decided to take early advantage by bowling first. Steyn stood up to the call from his skipper and gave two quick breakthroughs in the powerplay. After that Pakistan built a partnership to recover from the early blows but Steyn came back to put them under pressure once again. He picked up most of his remaining wickets in the later phase of the innings to restrict Pakistan from setting a challenging target and ended up taking 6 wickets while conceding only 39 runs.
5/25 vs Pakistan, 2013
Another 5-wicket haul from Steyn against Pakistan but this time on an away tour, in Abu Dhabi. Batting first, South Africa made 266 runs which was not a tough ask unless the Proteas bowling unit brought their best in the second innings. The lead South African fast bowler once again stepped up to guide his team to a clinical victory. He was crucial in breaking the partnerships that Pakistan batters had formed and those decisive dismissals restricted Pakistan to 238 runs in the second innings.
5/50 vs India, 2011
These are the performances that defined the character of Dale Steyn. In a group stage match in the 2011 World Cup against South Africa, the hosts India were cruising in the first innings but Dale Steyn picked up wickets in quick succession which caused an ugly collapse in the later part of the Indian innings. Steyn was important for South Africa in derailing India’s batting stint from 2/267 to 10/296. These late wickets were very significant in the context of the match as South Africa chased the target in the very last over which establishes the contribution of Steyn’s spell in the first innings.
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