Published: Jul 24, 2014, 02:57 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 24, 2014, 04:00 PM (IST)
Dale Steyn’s nine-wicket haul for South Africa against Sri Lanka helped rewrite several records. Bharath Seervi lists the records created and overcome by Steyn.
Dale Steyn took five for 54 against Sri Lanka at Galle in the first innings and four for 45 in the second. His match figures of nine for 99 were enough to be Man of the Match which was won by a margin of 153 runs by South Africa. Steyn’s match figures were the best for South Africa in Sri Lanka. His figures are only second-best to Richard Hadlee’s 10 for 102 by any non-Asian pace bowler in Sri Lanka.
Best Test match bowling figures by Non-Asian pace bowlers in Sri Lanka
| Figures | Bowler | For | Venue | Year | Result |
| 10/102 | Sir Richard Hadlee | New Zealand | Colombo (CCC) | 1984 | Won |
| 9/99 | Dale Steyn | South Africa | Galle | 2014 | Won |
| 9/106 | Brett Schultz | South Africa | Colombo (SSC) | 1993 | Won |
| 8/43 | Sir Richard Hadlee | New Zealand | Kandy | 1984 | Won |
| 8/102 | Jermaine Lawson | West Indies | Colombo (SSC) | 2005 | Lost |
| 8/120 | Tim Southee | New Zealand | Colombo (PSS) | 2012 | Won |
| 8/123 | Darren Gough | England | Kandy | 2001 | Won |
With his second wicket in the fourth innings, Steyn became the fast bowler with most Test wickets by a non-Asian player in Asia. He surpassed Courtney Walsh’s 77 wickets in 17 Test matches. Among all bowlers most Test wickets by a non-Asian bowler in Asia is 127 by Shane Warne in 25 Test matches followed by Daniel Vettori who has 96 wickets in 20 Tests.
Most Test wickets by Non-Asian pace bowlers in Asia
| Wickets | Bowler | Matches | Average | Strike Rate | 5WIs | 10WMs |
| 80 | Dale Steyn (SA) | 16 | 22.17 | 39.1 | 5 | 1 |
| 77 | Courtney Walsh (WI) | 17 | 20.53 | 45.2 | 5 | 0 |
| 72 | Glenn McGrath (Aus) | 19 | 23.02 | 54.8 | 1 | 0 |
| 71 | Malcolm Marshall (WI) | 19 | 23.05 | 48.7 | 3 | 0 |
| 68 | Sir Richard Haldee (NZ) | 13 | 21.58 | 42.7 | 5 | 2 |
Most Test wickets by Non-Asian bowlers in Asia
| Wickets | Bowler | Matches | Average | Strike Rate | 5WIs | 10WMs |
| 127 | Shane Warne (Aus) | 25 | 26.81 | 52.6 | 11 | 3 |
| 96 | Daniel Vettori (NZ) | 20 | 28.95 | 68.6 | 8 | 1 |
| 80 | Dale Steyn (SA) | 16 | 22.17 | 39.1 | 5 | 1 |
| 77 | Courtney Walsh (WI) | 17 | 20.53 | 45.2 | 5 | 0 |
| 73 | Graeme Swann (Eng) | 13 | 25.97 | 54.8 | 5 | 2 |
| 73 | Derek Underwood (Eng) | 22 | 26.65 | 78.9 | 3 | 0 |
(Bharath Seervi is a cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs atwww.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket)
