Dale Steyn at Galle: A memory to cherish

Dale Steyn was at his mesmerising best at Galle

Mohammad Asif’s heroics:

The last time I witnessed some high quality pace bowling in Sri Lanka was way back in 2006 at Kandy where a tall Pakistani bowler named Mohammad Asif rattled the home batting line-up, not with sheer pace but with some skillful bowling. The Lankans started their second innings with a lead of 109 runs and were sitting pretty at 22 for 0; however, in the twinkling of an eye, the advantage was taken away.

The Sri Lankan batsmen were clueless against Asif’s nagging line, incisive length and lethal cutters. Asif didn’t run in like a Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis to send chills down a batsman’s spine with deceptive pace and late in-swingers, but he outfoxed the batsmen with vicious cutters, like a certain Fazal Mahmodd would do. He loitered around the off-stump, cut and seamed through the opposition batting line-up and thus made Muttiah Muralitharan’s 51st five-wicket haul look less bright.

Sri Lanka were bundled out for just 73 runs, and Pakistan easily chased down the target in their fourth innings to win the series. On a track that was not helpful for the pace bowlers, Asif produced an extraordinary spell of pace-bowling to ensure Pakistan a series win.

Dale Steyn unleashes hell:

Time has moved on: Asif has been banned for spot fixing and Sri Lanka have hosted many Test series in these eight years, where either the batsmen or the spinners dominated, but I cannot recall a single pacer who stood out like Dale Steyn did in the just concluded Test match, which was won by South Africa with ease.

The Galle track was still very sedate on the third day, and the home batters were expected to cash in. To jolt this compact Sri Lankan batting line-up on such a placid track, something exceptional was needed. South African bowlers Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir were failing to deliver, and it was up to the Proteas talisman Steyn to script something magical.

On a lifeless deck, the 31-year-old didn’t shy to bang the ball short, and it paid off big time as Kaushal Silva fell while hooking a well-directed Steyn bouncer, which raised a lot more than the batsman had expected. Then it was time to take revenge over Mahela Jayawardene, who made Steyn to toil in 2006.

A fast and full delivery, almost a yorker-length, thundered into his pads for which Steyn appealed vociferously; umpire Billy Bowden lifted his crooked finger. Jayawerdene went for a review, but it was not helpful enough. The world no. 1’s joy knew no bound.

The home team was stunned:

After tea, Steyn unleashed a flurry of bone-chilling short-pitch stuffs to unsettle the Lankan batsmen, and they were followed by lethal reverse-swinging deliveries, which was too tough to handle. Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal and Dilruwan Perera were gobbled as he picked a five-for in the first innings.

In the second innings, he was as usual in a destructive mood: a four-wicket haul and fantastic support from his bowling partner Morne sunk Sri Lanka.

The exhausting heat at Galle didn’t even take its toll on Steyn as he continued to run in with enough vigor, not for a moment thinking to bowl defensively.

Steyn’s pace was deceptive; he made the old ball to reverse as effectively as ever and fired through the block hole by dishing out yorkers from hell and extracted unbelievable bounce from a track that looked dead when opposition bowled. Boy, that was fearsome!

If a fast bowler exhibits his pace-bowling expertise on flat wickets, then it’s a lifetime memory to relish. Flat tracks don’t do anything good to a pace bowler’s confidence, but exceptionally gifted ones are never to be dented by such demons. Adverse conditions always bring out the best from them, and Galle brought out the very best from Steyn. Ultimately, Sri Lanka had to suffer.