Bangladesh had ended the first day disappointingly after building a solid foundation with the bat, losing four wickets for 31 runs in the final session as Dale Steyn found substantial reverse swing.
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The world’s top-ranked test bowler brought up the milestone when he had opener Tamim Iqbal caught at first slip by Hashim Amla for six and his next target is Shaun Pollock’s national record of 421 wickets.
The 32-year-old nearly reached the landmark in his second over of the day but Dean Elgar dropped Tamim at second slip.
Nobody on the list of bowlers to take 400 wickets has a strike rate anywhere near as good as Steyn’s. “It’s pretty cool to take the wickets and get the headband off and get the hair off”, he told reporters after the day’s play.
“It’s a mix of different emotions really”, said Steyn, who was wearing a Dennis Lillee-style headband on the field after growing his hair long. He led the attack until the very last over of the day in true “Dale Steyn fashion”, an effort he says came easily because of his current state of mind. He went on to pick three wickets along with spinner JP Duminy who also took three wickets to give South Africa the edge over the home team. Seven for 51 are his best bowling figures in Test cricket, and Sachin Tendulkar was among the batsmen he dismissed in the innings.
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16634: Balls it took Steyn to collect 400 wickets – the least, by far, taken by any bowler.
