I enjoy bowling in general: Steyn

Dale Steyn sounded a stern warning to opposition batsmen ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next year with a match-winning spell against Pakistan in the first T20I in Dubai. The South African pace machine had recently vowed to become a force to be reckoned with ahead of the World Cup next year and walked the talk with some excellent fast and hostile bowling which left the Pakistan top order in tatters. Steyn finished with match figures of 4 overs, 15 runs and 3 wickets. "I enjoy bowling in general. I said the other day that I enjoy playing the shortest formats of the game, it's quite fun. You get to shout around and boss around. I've done okay. I am landing the ball in right area more often than not and you pick wickets when you do that." Steyn got rid of the inform Sohaib Maqsood and the Pakistani skipper, Mohammad Hafeez in the same over - the 2nd of the innings to break the backbone of the Pakistani line-up. The latter has become his bunny and Steyn has enjoyed a lot of success against Hafeez in the recent past. "Once I get one or two wickets Pakistan batsmen feel the pressure. Sometimes it happens, Hafeez is a good player but fortunately I have had the better of him. I don't know where to count how many times I have dismissed him. My hands, maybe. Maybe I can take my boots off and count," said a smiling Steyn on a lighter note on receiving the match of the match award at the post-match presentation ceremony. South African captain, Faf du Plessis was very pleased with the all-round efforts of his team. He commended the performance of his bowlers who set the match up for the Proteas. Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe ran through the Pakistan top order and left the hosts in the doldrums. "It was a pretty good game. To start of the series with a win and breaking their back. Yes, I was a bit worried when we lost the toss but always knew that if we get a couple of wickets we will put them under pressure." When asked whether he was critical of the Pakistan team selection, du Plessis replied, "To be honest, not so much about the selection but Afridi coming at No. 3 certainly surprised us." After restricting Pakistan to a paltry 98, du Plessis along with fellow opener, Quinton de Kock, who had impressed in the recently concluded ODI series, overcame a minor setback of losing Hashim Amla early in the innings and put together an unbeaten 83 run stand to help South Africa romp to victory. du Plessis was all in praise for the southpaw. "The baby faced assassin (de Kock) has been brilliant. I hope he keeps going. It's a nice little purple patch for him." The skipper added that South Africa were focused on the T20 World Cup next year and it was always their endeavour to field their best eleven. "First thing for me is our preparation for the T20 World Cup. If we get to No. 1 or 2 in this format it would be great. For me it is about putting the best 11 on the field (when asked about giving others a chance)." A disappointed Pakistani skipper, Mohammad Hafeez stated that the batting once again let the team down. "Well I personally feel that we didn't set a target we wanted to. South Africa bowled really well. The batsmen have to take the responsibility. I think, it's not about one person doing some magic, we have to do the basics right as a unit and get some good partnerships, that's something that is lacking." He added that the little cameo by Umar Akmal (49 off 41 deliveries) was the only positive for Pakistan from the match but at the same time did not lose heart and was optimistic about the side's future. "The only positive was Umar getting runs. But these things happens so you have to keep your head up and move on. We've got to believe in ourselves."