• Home
  • Player Stories
  • Nagpur Nightmare How Dale Steyns Explosive 7 Wicket Spell Decimated India In 2010

Nagpur nightmare! How Dale Steyn’s explosive 7-wicket spell decimated India in 2010

Poulomi Chakraborty

Dale Steyn's dominance in 2010 (Source: @cricketcomau/x.com)Dale Steyn's dominance in 2010 (Source: @cricketcomau/x.com)

Whenever some of the best teams of Test cricket step into the big stage to lock horns in the longest format of cricket, the thrills follow all the way. The marathon five days of intense red-ball drama turn every swing, delivery, and catch into timeless memories for cricket fans.

Across the storied Test battles between India and South Africa, legends have left their mark, but Dale Steyn crafted some of the most iconic moments. A fierce bowler, combined with extreme pace, accuracy adorned with skiddy bouncers and incisive Yorkers, was a living nightmare for the opponent batters.

In 2010, the Men in Blue felt the full fury of Dale Steyn as he tore through India’s batting lineup with ruthless precision. Let’s relive his domination on the Indian soil.

Steyn rolls through India with relentless pace

In cricket, batters may steal the spotlight, but bowlers are the soul of the game, and pacers are its heartbeat. Over the years, the game has witnessed some of the greatest pacers, but the fast bowling legends from the South African soil stand different. Among them, Dale Steyn’s legacy remains unmatched, a true testament to skill, speed, and sheer class.

As the Protea bowler was a living threat to the opponent batters, the Indian batters felt his heat in the 2010 Nagpur Test. After South Africa put on a total of 558 runs while batting first, India’s job was already difficult, and Steyn made it harder.

Coming to bat, India lost a quick wicket of Gautam Gambhir, and Steyn came to bowl in the 9th over. In the last delivery of that over, he removed Murali Vijay and put pressure on the home side. Moments later, he struck gold again, dismissing Sachin Tendulkar and plunging the Men in Blue deeper into trouble.

After Sehwag’s dismissal, Badrinath was building his innings, but the Protea star removed him in 56 runs. Losing six wickets in 221 runs, Team India was already reeling, but Dale Steyn inflicted more destruction.

Coming back at bowling in the 106th over, he removed Wriddhiman Saha on 36 runs and secured a brilliant fifer. Steyn then dismissed Zaheer Khan for 2, Amit Mishra for a duck, and Harbhajan Singh for 8, skittling India’s innings to a mere 233. Dale Steyn’s heat hit India hard on their own home soil.

The ace Protea bowler ended the innings with a remarkable spell of 7/51 with an economy rate of 3.06. Steyn’s domination was so hard that India’s star-studded batting order crumbled in front of sheer class. In the annals of India-South Africa Tests, Dale Steyn’s spell stands tall as an unforgettable masterpiece of pace and precision.