Six for 100 isn't Steyn's best ever, but when he reflects on this, the paceman might reckon his second day's performance to be right up there on the list. Starting at 181/1, India were bowled out for 334, courtesy Steyn's 6-51 on the second day. The South African openers Graeme Smith (35 batting) and Alviro Petersen (46 batting) negotiated the new ball well and the hosts went to stumps at 82/0.
The dark sky and nagging rain in the morning had washed out the first session, but Steyn saw the positives. When he came in to bowl, after going without a wicket for 70.3 overs over the last three innings, there was some moisture on the pitch. He came steaming in, and there were two different lengths that he was bowling.
He was pitching a few just a little short and attacked the body of the batsmen, which forced M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara to stay in their crease. And then he pushed in his well-pitched deliveries at a lively pace that did a bit off the seam.
It was with one such delivery that Steyn had the reliable Pujara (70 off 132 balls). He looked to drive without moving his feet and AB de Villiers didn't make a mistake. The animated fist pumping of Steyn suggested how desperate he was for this wicket.
Vijay (97) was closing in on his century, but Steyn had him with a shorter one. He tucked him near his ribs and got his gloves and the 'keeper finished the catch moving to his left. Rohit Sharma looked to leave the first ball he faced on length, but the Kingsmead track doesn't have the bounce of the Wanderers. Moreover, he had kept his off-stump open and the ball crashed into middle-stump.
With 3-19 off five overs in his morning session, Steyn was breathing fire. But Graeme Smith made the mistake of taking his premier paceman off at this stage, looking to keep him fresh for the new ball, nine overs away.
It was just the breather Virat Kohli (46) and Ajinkya Rahane (51 no) were looking for. With Jacques Kallis and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson bowling, the two got their eye in and when Steyn and Morne Morkel came back with the second new ball before lunch, they were not as effective. With the sun coming out, the pitch had dried out and Kohli was playing beautifully. He left well outside the off and anything close to his body was played away on the on-side for runs. The Kohli-Rahane partnership yielded 66 runs and South Africa were a little lucky to get the Delhi batsman out.
Morkel had dragged one down the leg and Kohli's attempted glance didn't hit the sweet spot, AB completing another good catch down leg. MS Dhoni and Rahane then got involved in a 55-run partnership, which had a lot to do with some inexplicable captaincy by Smith.
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