Not afraid of Sehwag: Steyn
Nagpur, Feb. 4: In a match-up between two heavyweights, the high voltage sub-plot could be the contest between Dale Steyn and Virender Sehwag. It’s much like a irresistible force against an immovable object. However Steyn, who flattened India for one of their lowest scores during the 2008 series in Ahmedabad, sees every batsman in the side as an important wicket.
"In Test cricket you can’t take any wicket for granted. If you find someone like Sehwag or someone in the middle-order like Sachin Tendulkar batting with the last batsman and they are rotating the strike and Tendulkar is facing five balls of the six deliveries, you will find it pretty difficult to get the tail ender out. Every single wicket to us is a major target," said Steyn.
Sehwag after his triple ton in Chennai hit a streak of low scores. It looked like the South Africans had got a measure of the dashing opener. His recent form has been devastating and Steyn and Co. will have to come up with something special to stop him. "He showed us in Chennai that on flat wickets, he could score runs. But once we exploited his biggest weaknesses, he wasn’t able to get away. We definitely have our game plans against somebody like him. We are not afraid of Sehwag. Or anybody," explained Steyn.
The absence of a few senior batsmen could work in South Africa’s favour. "They are going to miss some massive experience and if they they fill them in with a couple of debutants, obviously it will work for us. However, at Test level, players who come in as replacements are usually good and we expect them to fight hard," added Steyn.
Steyn and Morkel must be ready for some hard work. They must hit the deck hard to hurry the batsmen. Steyn’s natural aggression could help on these flat tracks. The duo have the air speed and lift from short of length to pose questions. "A yorker is absolutely no different whether you bowl it here in Nagpur, Chennai, Johannesburg or Perth. It’s the skill behind the delivery, and the planning that counts at the end of the day," said the speedster who has picked 185 Test wickets from 36 Test matches so far.
On young Wayne Parnell, Steyn said: He falls in quite nicely. He did well in his first Test match in Johannesburg, he had conditions that suited him. If I am right, India have not played left-arm fast bowlers well at all. Wayne is low, and skiddy, he is almost a mirror image of my bowling. He gets good swing, he gets the ball to reverse too. His preparation has been good," said Steyn who added that reverse swing could be India’s biggest weapon.
The Kanpur defeat in 2008 rankles the Proteas till date and Steyn is committed to setting the record straight this time around.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
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