‘Legendary’ – Dale Steyn calls Sreesanth's six off Andre Nel as one that gives him chills every time

Although S Sreesanth’s cricket career has been marred with controversies, the Indian pacer bowled some fine spells in international cricket. The speedster even troubled batting greats like Jacques Kallis and Brian Lara with his thunderbolts. While Sreesanth is mainly known for his bowling prowess, he smashed South African pacer Andre Nel for a famous six during a Test match in 2006. On Saturday, Nel’s former teammate Dale Steyn recalled the episode and called Sreesanth’s slog ‘legendary.’

While many tail-enders have stunned oppositions with their big hits, what made Sreesanth’s hit famous was the fact that Nel had sledged him. The Indian bowler came to bat at number 10, and the Johannesburg track was favouring the pacers. Nel, who had three wickets in his kitty, provoked Sreesanth with his words and action. To this, Sreesanth didn’t hold back and smashed a big six on the very next delivery. On top of that, he added salt to Nel’s wound with his famous swinging bat celebration.

Sreesanth’s slog off Andre Nel was legendary: Dale Steyn

Recently, ESPNCricinfo’s official account asked Twitterati to mention that one shot that sends them chills every time. Responding to this, Steyn recalled Sreesanth’s iconic six in the 2006 Johannesburg Test. “Sreesanth and his slog off Andre Nel for 6 with the swinging bat celebration. Legendary,” he wrote.

Sreesanth and his slog off Andre Nel for 6 with the swinging bat celebration. Legendary

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) May 15, 2021

Meanwhile, Sreesanth had revealed that Nel poked him by saying Indians don’t have heart, and subsequently, the Indian pacer went for a big hit. “Andre Nel was talking a lot. He kept saying that Indians don’t have a heart and that they (South Africa) were the better team. I wanted to tell him to look at the scoreboard once; we had the upper hand. I had gotten out for a duck in the first innings, and a lot of our better batsmen hadn’t scored too many runs that day,” Sreesanth told Sportskeeda.

Coming back to the Test match, Sreesanth, apart from scoring that six, also picked eight wickets in the game and took India to a 123-run triumph. He even earned the Player of the Match award. Steyn also featured in that game but went wicketless.