South African paceman Dale Steyn was really upset for being booed by the crowd and being targeted for criticism following the drawn first cricket Test against India, according to his teammate AB De Villiers.
Having lost seven wickets, Steyn and his pace colleague Vernon Philander chose to play it safe as the hosts fell short by eight runs, chasing a world record 458 to win.
Both Steyn and Philander had to cope with criticism for not trying to win the match for their side. “There were a lot of mixed emotions. It’s difficult to handle those situations. Dale (Steyn) was really upset, he struggled to handle it. It really took Graeme (Smith) and a few guys to help him handle it immediately, because of the crowds, the booing and everyone criticising him and Vernon (Philander).
“They took a lot of strain and it was up to the team to pull through that but it was really tough,” De Villiers told reporters.
De Villiers, who captains the One-day side, though reckoned that the Johannesburg Test was one of the best matches in the history of the game. “I am always a guy that looks past the results and I feel really lucky to have been part of that. I gave it my best shot, so did Faf (du Plessis), so did the whole team and we just came short in winning a spectacular Test match but very blessed to have been part of the match. It will go down in the history books as one of the best Tests ever. That’s how I felt,” the prolific batsman said.