Dale Steyn retires: Top 3 spells in the IPL
One of the greatest fast bowlers to have ever graced the field, Dale Steyn has called it quits from all forms of cricket. Taking to Twitter, Dale Steyn posted an emotional poem that captured his life and how the past few years have become quite straining for him physically.
"I guess Covid-19 kind of made me see things differently, it wasn't fun anymore. And if it's not fun then it's not worth doing," Dale Steyn said post his announcement.
In his social media post, he summed up his state of mind as "bitter sweet but grateful."
He has been a true great, one of the best pacers to have played in all the three formats and his absence will be felt. He might be known for his absolutely sensational Test match bowling, but on his day he was a feared prospect even with the white ball.
Dale Steyn was a constant presence even in the IPL and over the years, he has had a number of memorable performances. In 95 matches in the IPL, Steyn picked up 97 wickets at an average of 25.86 and with an economy rate of 6.92.
As he calls it quits, we take a look at the three memorable Dale Steyn spells in the Indian Premier League:
1) 3 for 8 against RCB in 2012
Deccan Chargers batted first but they were restricted to 132 in their allotted 20 overs and Royal Challengers Bangalore would have believed they had the match in their grasp. However, this is when they confronted a marauding Dale Steyn who charged in and changed the complexion of the game.
He picked up the wickets of Chris Gayle and Tillekratne Dilshan to break the back of the chase up front and then finished the innings off with the wicket of Zaheer Khan. In his four overs, he gave away just 8 runs and picked up 3 wickets and Deccan Chargers went on to win the match by 9 runs.
The eye-popping celebrations were there for all to see and it was perhaps his best performance in the IPL.
2) 2 for 10 against MI in 2013
Dale Steyn was brilliant against the Mumbai Indians in the 40th match of IPL 2013. Although, Deccan Chargers lost the match, but Dale Steyn was adjudged man of the match, such was his performance.
Deccan Chargers were bundled out for just 100 and it looked like a cakewalk for a strong Mumbai Indians batting order. However, the conditions were good for seam bowling and Dale Steyn was on song. He took out Richard Levi from the very first ball of the second innings, the ball seaming away after pitching and disturbing the stumps.
Rohit Sharma came out to bat, but he was all at sea against the seaming ball and Dale Steyn was a man on song.
He picked up the wicket of Dinesh Karthik and his quota of 4 overs, he gave away just 10 runs and picked up the two wickets. Deccan Chargers lost the match, but Dale Steyn was simply superb and went on to win the man of the match award.
See the list of players who won most man of the match in IPL.
3) 3 for 16 against Kochi Tuskers in 2011
2011 was perhaps the best season for Dale Steyn. He was in his prime and was the best bowler on display for the Deccan Chargers. He picked up 14 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 21.25 in the season.
Deccan Chargers could only muster 126 runs and Kochi Tuskers came into the chase as firm favorites. However, Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma hunted in a pack and left Kochi fumbling all the way through.
While Steyn picked up 3 wickets for 16 runs, Ishant Sharma picked a 5-wicket haul and Kochi folded for 74 runs.