IPL 2022 | How Umran Malik made Steyn jump all over Muralitharan?

Cricket fans witnessed one of the most gratifying moments of the season yesterday (April 15), when Dale Steyn jumped all over the Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan in the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) dugout. This heartwarming incident occurred after the SRH pacer Umran Malik clean bowled the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) captain Shreyas Iyer with a searing fast yorker. The Proteas pacer revealed the story behind his jump after SRH managed to win the match by seven wickets.

The tenth over of Kolkata's innings witnessed a fierce battle between the lightning-fast Umran Malik and the KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer. As Iyer was trying to offset Malik's lines and lengths by jumping all over the crease, Muralitharan in the SRH dugout suggested that the ideal ball to him would be a straight yorker. 

Steyn and the SRH coach Tom Moody disagreed with the idea, feeling that if Umran missed the yorker, Iyer would take it to the cleaners with a straight hit down the ground. 

But, to the surprising delight of the Sunrisers, Malik delivered a perfect yorker knocking down Iyer's stumps. Seeing the accuracy of Murali's prediction, Steyn could not resist himself from jumping all over him and giving him a hug.

"I'm not going to lie to you. Sometimes, the players' genius comes out," said Steyn in a post-match interview. 

"Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) actually said that he thinks the perfect ball to bowl right now is a yorker. Tom (Moody) and I turned around and said, 'no, if he bowls a yorker now, he is going to be hit for a four-over his head'. He runs in, bowls a yorker, and knocks the stumps out of the ground! So, honestly, what do I know?, the South African added. 

Steyn, South Africa's all-time highest wicket-taker, was all praise for the pacer, Umran Malik.

"The genius is in the players, guys. They have to do what they have to do, and when they have to do it, I just jumped into Murali! I was like, "you are a spin bowling coach, and now you are making these amazing calls," said the right-arm pacer with a big smile on his face.

Umran Malik has been a revelation in terms of raw pace. Steyn had advised him to never compromise on his pace, which seems to be working now for the Kashmir quick.