Steyn-gun fully loaded

South Africa pace spearhead Dale Steyn bowls during a net session at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday. PHOTO: STAR

With 396 Test wickets in the bag, pacer Dale Steyn requires just four more wickets to become only the second South Africa bowler after Shaun Pollock to take 400 Test scalps. And Steyn's brilliant record in the sub-continent suggests that he is likely to reach that landmark in this two-match series.

For starters, the 32-year-old has taken 22 wickets in four Tests against Bangladesh and averages just 17.18 against the Tigers. In addition, he has taken 84 wickets in 17 matches in Asia, which is currently the highest number of scalps by a non-Asian pacer in the sub-continent. If one were to include the spinner as well, Steyn remains third with Shane Warne and Daniel Vettori ahead of him.

With five 5-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket haul in the sub-continent, there's no doubt that the pacer is bound to be a threat for the hosts.

Steyn's brilliant record in the sub-continent was an aspect that South Africa skipper Hashim Amla emphasised on during the pre-match press conference in Chittagong yesterday.

"He has been a special bowler for us. In crucial times he has made contributions no matter where it has been.

"Hopefully, if he can get there [400 wickets] during this series, there is no doubt that everybody will enjoy the success that he has got because we know the amount of work that he has put in," said Amla.

"I don't know what the figures are but I think he has an equally good record in the sub-continent, as at home and in the other places and not many fast bowlers can do that.

"His action and his style of bowling… especially if the ball starts to reverse swing, he is really dangerous. There are not too many bowlers in the world who can be as successful as Dale is on flat wickets," the skipper added.

While Amla reckoned that the hosts would be high on confidence following the win in the ODIs, he also however, believed that the visitors would put up a much better show in a format that they are a lot more comfortable in.

"Test cricket is a different ball game. We have been playing really good Test cricket over the last couple of years. We have a lot of new faces in the team mixed with experienced players. We are a team in transition and we hope to get together as a team and grow in the next couple of years," said Amla.