During his remarkable career, Indian captain Rohit Sharma faced the ultimate test against South African speed legend Dale Steyn. Steyn was, Rohit recently disclosed, the hardest bowler he had ever faced. The forty-year-old fast bowler is still thought to be among the best of his generation.
The former Proteas player amassed a career total of 699 wickets in all formats, and his ability to produce sharp bounce and movement at a rapid tempo was a nightmare for opposing hitters. Steyn was a formidable opponent in every situation due to his proficiency with swing and seam movement.
Rohit acknowledged the excellence of Dale Steyn and said he had watched a tonne of films of the pacer to get ready for the match.
Before I took the pitch, I went and viewed his videos about a hundred times. It was Steyn Dale. He is the ultimate gaming legend. And it’s amazing to see what success he has had in his career. I’ve confronted him numerous times. He moves quickly. It’s not simple for him to stroke the ball at that pace as he used to. It’s really difficult,” Rohit remarked in a conversation with Dubai Eye 103.8.
He was an intense rival: Rohit Sharma
The 37-year-old highlighted Steyn’s sense of competition as well. “He was an intense rival. It was good to go up against someone that really went out there wanting to win every game and every session. “I enjoyed my battles with him, not that I had much success against him,” he continued.
Interestingly, Steyn only bowled Rohit out for a golden duck in the 2013 Durban Test, with a blistering inswinger that smashed into the stumps. In T20Is, Rohit has faced just four deliveries from the bowler and hammered him for a six. In ODIs, he has a strike rate of 63 against Steyn.
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Sharma is currently a player for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing IPL 2024. With a strike rate of 145.41 and an average of 29.08, he has scored 349 runs from 13 innings. The former MI captain’s season has started out mediocrely. Sharma, meantime, is getting ready to captain the Indian squad in the USA and the West Indies for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024.