Faf du Plessis pouches a stunning catch as Perth sees a glimpse of vintage Dale Steyn

The last time Australia and South Africa played each other was a spiteful affair which ensued in hatred, schadenfreude and heartbreaks. Newlands was the stage for what turned out to be one of the ugliest incidents in the cricketing world – Cameron Bancroft was caught by cameras shoving a piece of sandpaper down his trousers. What followed though was a bit of overreaction, but what it also did was give birth to a new rivalry in the sport.

A new-look Australia side is playing South Africa for the first time since their team was shamed for the ball-tampering scandal. There’s certainly a lot of nervous energy going around the field, but what matters is how the players are dealing with the pressure in Perth. The visiting captain Faf du Plessis though led by example as he took a blinder in the first of three ODIs on Sunday to get rid of the dangerous D’Arcy Short for a duck.

Steyn returns to his firing best

Interestingly, it was Dale Steyn steaming in at Short, the bowler who had sustained a career-threatening injury in Perth exactly two years ago. But Steyn returned to international cricket with a bang as he struck twice in three balls to put the visitors on top during the first one-dayer. The 35-year-old looked in firing form as he first got rid of Travis Head. But it was Short’s wicket that made the headlines, primarily because of du Plessis’ spectacular grab.

Steyn pitched the ball up to the left-hander and the batsman flashed hard at it, looking to cream it through cover and point. However, all he managed to do was find a thick edge, which flew to second slip. Speaking of flying, the Proteas skipper leapt to his left with both hands up in the air and pulled off a magical catch. He took a tumble to the ground and eventually made it look a lot easier than it was. The captain only showed a glimpse of the heights that South African fielding standards can reach.

Watch the catch here:

Good catch, Faf. #AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/fiMPs6lgUD

— Googly (@googlyAU) November 4, 2018

Wake up for this 💯💙.!! #AUSvsSA #dalesteyn #fab @DaleSteyn62 @OfficialCSA @CAComms @ICC pic.twitter.com/2i9J9wSI82

— Ragul fraNk (@Ragulfrank) November 4, 2018

The Australians seem to be in all sorts of trouble as they find themselves at 89 for 7 with still more than 20 overs to go in the innings. The pacers have done all the damage for South Africa, with Steyn bagging 2 and Andile Phehlukwayo snapping up 3 so far.

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