Steyn and Rabada bowling in tandem is a sight to behold

DALE STEYN hinted at better things to come with a controlled performance in the second T20 international against Australia – his first top-level match for more than two months.

The mystery shoulder problem which cut short his participation in the first Test against England last December, and then ended any chance he had of facing them for the rest of that series and the subsequent ODIs and T20s, seemed to be a thing of the past as he not only bowled accurately but also fielded athletically.

“I was really impressed with his control, his plans were good, it’s almost like he never left,” said South Africa’s T20 skipper Faf du Plessis. “In big pressure moments he’s still delivering, it was a really good day for Dale.”

Steyn, pictured below, picked up two wickets, though even he’d acknowledge the brilliance of the two catches which enabled him to add wickets 56 and 57 to his international T20 tally. First there was Kagiso Rabada’s almost absurd effort on the third-man boundary that ended Steve Smith’s innings and then Shane Watson was superbly caught by JP Duminy, running backwards from point.

They were just reward for Steyn, though, who built on the early pressure created by Rabada’s dismissal of Aaron Finch. He then returned in the latter stages to pull the Proteas back into the contest as David Warner and Glenn Maxwell were dominating.

Unlike Rabada who regularly propelled the ball at speeds in excess of 145km/h – even breaching the 150km/h mark at times – Steyn was happy to operate in the mid to high-130s, foregoing pace for greater control.

“I wasn’t too worried about his pace, it’s his first game back you can’t expect a guy to bowl 150km/h,” said Du Plessis.

Seeing Rabada and Steyn in tandem was certainly a sight to behold, and while Sunday’s was the merest taste of what’s to come there will be many counting the days to the Proteas’ next Test match when a hopefully fully fit Steyn and Rabada can bowl more sustained spells.

Rabada certainly impressed the Australians, whose only previous look at him had been when he made his T20 debut Down Under in November 2014. “South Africa’s heading in the right direction with fast bowling talent,” Warner remarked about Rabada.

The 20-year-old picked up two wickets and landed his yorker with accuracy – for the most part. “As a captain I’ve got no issue trusting a 20-year-old to bowl the last over. That’s how far he’s come, I’m really excited by what he can do in the World Cup,” Du Plessis added.

On the batting front Du Plessis remains loath to tinker with the top-order and even though both Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla have produced outstanding knocks in recent weeks, only one of them will play as AB de Villiers’ partner at the top of the order.

“It’s not something I’d like to do,” Du Plessis said about using all three in the same starting XI. He hinted later though that circumstances may motivate him to reconsider.

“We decided on AB at the top a while ago and to change that now would be a sign of panic. However on the day – if you’re at the World Cup – and you feel that form is different then obviously you’re going to look to change it. If we feel they are all in good form then you have to look at that. From a structure perspective, I think our strongest team is with AB at the top in India… but if all things lead to (playing all three), then it must be considered.”

While the Proteas appear set on a single structure for their side, Australia has been very open about experimenting with different combinations in this series. One option they do seem set on utilising in India is Warner at No 4. For most of his career – across all the formats - he’s opened the batting but on this trip he’s in at No 4 and the value of his experience and power were evident on Sunday as he and Maxwell produced a world-record fourth-wicket stand that proved decisive in their thrilling victory at the Wanderers.

“I’m quite flexible, I’ve done it in the IPL,” he said. “It’s about mixing it up in the middle, you need a left hander in the middle order.”

Sunday’s win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Australians and ended a similar length winning one for the Proteas. Tomorrow’s decider will be a pulsating affair as both look to go into the World T20 with confidence.