Dale Steyn became South Africa’s joint highest Test wicket taker on Saturday in the second innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, equalling fellow fast bowler Shaun Pollock’s record of 421 dismissals. Steyn removed Sri Lanka’s last batsman Lakshan Sandakan for six to claim his 421st wicket, forcing the tailender to give a simple catch to Temba Bavuma at point. Steyn took 21 Tests less than Pollock, who ended with 421 wickets after 108 Tests, to reach the landmark.
Steyn was returning to cricket after a gap of 13 months after going under the knife for a shoulder injury. However, as luck would have it, he broke down after bowling 17.3 overs and taking two wickets in the Cape Town Test, suffering a muscle tear in his left heel.
After making his international debut, other than being one of the world’s leading Test bowlers, Steyn has proved his mettle in the shorter formats too. In the 116 ODIs he has picked 180 wickets, to go with 58 T20I wickets in 42 games. He will have the opportunity to go past Pollock in the second Test at Colombo starting on July 20th.
