Dale Steyn admits he 'gave' single to Sachin Tendulkar just to bowl at the other batsmen

During the late 2000s and early 2010s, Dale Steyn was at his absolute peak. He was a ferocious fast bowler, who was feared by most of the batsmen in the world. But, Sachin Tendulkar had some memorable knocks against the pacers. Be it his two centuries during the 2010-11 South African tour or his ODI double century in 2010, Steyn has been at the receiving end of some Tendulkar masterclasses. 

Recently, the legendary fast bowler decided to retire from all forms of cricket, bringing an end to an 18-year professional career that had several highs. During a recent interview, Steyn was asked whether he has ever given a single to Tendulkar, just so that he could bowl at the batsmen at the other end.

The former pacer with 439 Test wickets admitted that he had used this strategy against India sometimes. “Yeah, definitely. As a fast bowler I want to run in and to everyone, I want to bowl high speeds all day long, but sometimes you just know that, sometimes, the guy batting at the other end isn’t affected, it doesn’t bother him and he’s not concerned, so there’s no point wasting energy. So you concentrate on the ‘weaker’ link,” Steyn was quoted saying in an FAQ on the RMS Advisory global website. 

There’s no point in going for the big buffalo if he’s going to take you down: Dale Steyn on Sachin Tendulkar

Steyn then explained why his upbringing in Kruger helped him to get the mindset of targeting the weaker link. He revealed that he comes from Kruger, which is a famous national park in South Africa. Growing around nature helped him to notice something in animals. 

“They will always target the weakest link so that they can carry on surviving and that’s exactly what I did in my cricket. There’s no point in going for the big buffalo if he’s going to take you down. I went for the babies, knocking them off one by one. And I could still win. So yes, give him the single, bowl to the other guy,” Steyn said. 

The 38-year-old pacer last played an international for South Africa in February 2020. He had earlier quit Test cricket to focus on white-ball games, but with opportunities drying up, the decision on calling quits entirely came. Steyn had a successful career but it was plagued with injuries. He retired with 699 wickets for his country.