Sachin Tendulkar vs Dale Steyn: It was one for the ages!

Tendulkar vs Steyn: One of the greatest cricketing rivalries

Cricket is perhaps the only team sports where a player’s individual performance can have massive impact on the outcome of a match. It is perhaps the only team sports where individual battles between the players can be more thrilling than the match itself.

Of all the sports that are played between a ball and a willow, cricket is easily the most technical. It requires a totally different set of skills with bat and the ball. Though every match pits a batsman against a bowler and vice-versa, a highly competitive match between bat and the ball remain a rarity. It is because of the miss-match between the skills of batsman and the bowler.

However, when it happens, it transcends the realms of earth. One such battle happened when India travelled South Africa towards the end of 2010 just before the ICC Cricket World Cup. It was a battle for the ages. It showed how beautiful a game of cricket can look when two highly skilled craftsmen battled it out in the middle.

It was the third and final Test of the series after both the teams won one match each. Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl first. A brilliant century from Jacques Kallis helped South Africa reach 362. In response India didn’t get to a good start and lost Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid very early. In came Sachin Tendulkar and he steadily took India to 142-2 along with Gautam Gambhir by the end of 2^nd days play.

Players get on to the arena on the third morning of the Test. The skies were clear and the conditions were perfect for a game of cricket. Dale Steyn charged in and bowls a delightful out swinger first up to Sachin Tendulkar. It landed in the corridor just outside the off- stump. Tendulkar shuffled across and chased the ball but it kept moving away and was comprehensively beaten.

The tone was set for the rest of the day.

Next ball, another out swinger, another Tendulkar stab, he misses it by a whisker resulting in a vociferous appeal from the keeper. Third ball – out swinger again – Tendulkar jabs at the ball uncomfortably and edge takes the ball past gully for a couple. Fourth ball, a jaffa from Steyn and Tendulkar was beaten for the umpteenth time in the same over.

Fifth ball of the over- another out swinger from Steyn but this time Tendulkar leans forward to the pitch of the ball and drove it gloriously past the extra-cover for a boundary. Last ball of the over- it hit Tendulkar on thigh pad and for once there was no drama.

The ball swung and seamed of the pitch. Steyn was swinging and seaming the ball at high pace. It is one thing to play fast bowling and a totally different preposition to play a fast moving ball. Dale Steyn bowling that day was exhibition of perfect out swingers, frequently beating the outside edge of the bat. His balls repeatedly landed on middle stump before astonishingly moving away off the pitch.

If Steyn didn’t pick any wicket in his first spell of that day, it was only because he bowled every ball of that spell to Sachin Tendulkar. On any other day Tendulkar would have countered Steyn by attacking him but that day he decided to defend and was ready to take few blows on body too. He was beaten a million time but he stuck it out at the crease. He survived and played few exquisite cover drives in between.

Tendulkar missed, played, got hurt and then went to score a 100

It was a battle of wills and nerves. Steyn foxed Tendulkar every second ball but Tendulkar didn’t get out to him. When he was not facing Steyn, he cashed on the loose deliveries from other bowlers. A minor error in line or length and Tendulkar ruthlessly punished the bowl.

It was a very un-Tendulkar innings. He was not fluent and at times didn’t look comfortable at the crease. He played for survival. He understood the importance of this innings. India was never so close to win a test series in South Africa. He played; he missed but managed to survive the hostility of a charged up Dale Steyn.

When Steyn returned for another spell, he nipped out Pujara and Dhoni in a span of 12 balls. For the remaining 18 balls of that spell, he bowled to Tendulkar without any success.

It was one of those days when in a true sense cricket was the winner. Tendulkar finished with 146 off 314 and Steyn with 5 for 75. It easily goes down in the history of game as one the best on field battles. Dale Steyn bowled one of his best spells while Tendulkar went on to play one of his best innings.

Tendulkar later revealed that he decided not to play at anything that was outside the line of his head in the morning session. The wicket was fresh making the ball to swing severely. It clearly shows that he played the inning with a level head and made a conscious effort to tackle the Dale Steyn aggression. He went on to record and admitted that it was one of the best sessions of his life in Test cricket.

Despite their heroic performances, they couldn’t take their teams to victory. There was another super performer in the match; Jacques Kallis who scored twin centuries in the match as the match ended in a draw.

The match will forever be remember as Steyn vs Tendulkar match. If Tendulkar’s innings was a master class then Dale Steyn probably deserved wicket of every delivery he bowled in that spell. It was a spell bounding day of Test cricket. The first over of the day alone was worth the money.

When both the teams will step on the field again tomorrow, this great rivalry will be sorely missed. It is India’s first Test match post Tendulkar’s retirement. The onus is on young brigade of India to take the legacy of the great man forward. It won’t be easy though as Dale Steyn is still at the top of his prowess. Hopefully this series will mark the beginning of a new age rivalry.