Dale Steyn: “I love the fact that Babar came out and played with that aggressive mindset. I know I bowled like five half-volleys in a row to give him that opportunity to get onto that roll. I think I probably underestimated his ability”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Legendary South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn admitted that he regrets underestimating Pakistan batsman and T20 captain Babar Azam.

In the first innings of the Boxing Day Test between South Africa and Pakistan in Centurion in 2018, Steyn bowled 31 deliveries to Azam, of which 10 were hit for boundaries.

Azam hit another five boundaries from the 29 balls he faced from Steyn in the second innings of the second Test in Cape Town.

Despite being hit for so many boundaries, Steyn applauded Azam for playing “with that aggressive mindset”.

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“I love the fact that Babar came out and played with that aggressive mindset. I know I bowled like five half-volleys in a row to give him that opportunity to get onto that roll. I think I probably underestimated his ability,” Steyn said in a YouTube video as quoted by Cricket Pakistan. “He had a couple of great drives. I thought I would send it wider but he was able to get on top of that as well.

“He has now gone on to make a billion runs since then. He used that as the stepping stone because he had taken on a bowler who in his eyes was one of the best. That is awesome. It is nice that there is a cat and mouse thing with everyone. When we face off next time, it is going to be back to zero. The past won’t matter. It’s really nice that he has gone on to be as good as he is.”

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