7-fer against India in Nagpur one of my best spells, reveals Dale Steyn

10 years ago, a then 27-year-old Dale Steyn, who was at the absolute peak of his powers, registered what is considered to be the greatest spell of fast bowling in the sub-continent in Test history. With South Africa having scored a mammoth 558, batting first, on a flat Nagpur wicket, the right-armer ran through the gargantuan Indian batting line-up, withstanding a Virender Sehwag onslaught to finish with figures of 7/51.

The devastating spell from Steyn in the first innings meant that India folded for just 233, and him adding three more wickets to his name in the second innings helped South Africa inflict an innings defeat on the formidable Indian side. 

10 years on, Steyn, who has now retired from the game’s longest format, revealed in a Q&A session on Twitter that he rates the Nagpur spell as one of his finest. The 36-year-old further went on to label the likes of Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen as the best batsmen he’s bowled against and also raised his doubts about the World T20, that is scheduled to begin in October this year, happening in the first place.

Excerpts from Steyn’s Q&A: