[Watch] When Dale Steyn's Perfect Setup Castled Cheteshwar Pujara In 2018

image-lqw67pebPujara has played over 100 Test matches for India (Twitter)

One of the most lethal and consistent fast bowlers the modern era has ever seen was undoubtedly South Africa's Dale Steyn.

Steyn with his sheer pacer, coupled with near-perfect line and length troubled the best of batters during his time as an international cricketer, which ended in 2021, picking up 699 wickets for South Africa across formats.

In the later part of his career, despite being quite injury-prone Steyn's bowling acumen remained untouched, as seen during the County Championship 2018 season, where the bowler played for Hampshire County Cricket Club (HCCC). 

Turning up for Hampshire against Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) in a Division 1 match at Southampton, Steyn displayed his best against India's Cheteshwar Pujara.

Steyn absolutely ran past Yorkshire's batting order, claiming four out of the top seven wickets, which included Pujara, who was outclassed by the South African speedster. 

Steyn set Pujara up in a fashion that only he could, first peppering the batter with consecutive outswing deliveries just outside the off-stump, and then dismissing the Indian great with a perfect inswinger, which rattled the stumps apart.


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Interstingly, the former South African great remained wicketless in the second innings despite bowling 21 overs, in a match that ended a tame draw. 

The 40-year-old featured in just five County Championship matches that season, picking up 30 wickets at an impressive average of 19.10, while Pujara had a forgettable time, amazing 172 runs in six games.