Dewald Brevis has six-hitting options to every ball: Dale Steyn on the no-look six wonder who has Tilak Varma on his speed dial

“There has been a lot of talk about Brevis and his six-hitting ability for a while, even from his Under-19 days. I kept hearing about him and watching him hitting the ball all over the park. Now we’re starting to see it at the highest level,” Steyn said.

The former quick stayed that it wasn’t slogging that the world was witnessing from the man known as Baby AB and who considers the former 360 icon a hero. Steyn said there were proper cricketing shots at play. “He has that capability, and batters aren’t looking to leave the ball anymore. They have the confidence to clear the rope, not with a slog but with good cricket shots. They train that way. They have six-hitting options to every ball,” he added.

Brevis who shares the IPL dressing room with several top Indian batters, had told Star Sports once he has Tilak Varma on his speed-dial, and reckoned Graeme Pollock would’ve made a good T20 batter. “Brevis is the future. He’s only 22-years-old. If he’s already familiar with chasing 359 at this stage of his career, imagine what it will be like in eight or ten years. This could become the norm,” Steyn told JioHotstar.

While his half century helped the South African chase keeping the required run rate within bounds,, Proteas greats are still preaching caution. Jacques Kallis told Cricket next of News18, “I think he still needs to work out his game to a certain degree. He’s very aggressive and at times perhaps too aggressive. He needs to find that balance between being aggressive and just taking the time to sit and wait a little bit. But he’ll work it out. He’s still a youngster. He’s more than good enough. It’s just a matter of time till he comes through.”

The chase however was built on the bulwark of Aiden Markram’s century. Suni Gavaskar told JioHotstar he was mighty impressed.

“I rate that innings very, very highly. Whenever you’re chasing 350-plus, there is always pressure. You want to give the team a good start, not a quiet one, and keep the asking rate under control. The rate was just over seven when they began, and you don’t want that rising beyond nine, especially in the first 10 overs of the Powerplay when only two fielders are outside the circle. With Quinton de Kock, who has a fine record against India, failing again, the responsibility fell on Markram. With his experience of playing in India, in the IPL and otherwise, he understands the conditions well. He took that responsibility on himself. In the previous match he captained because Bavuma wasn’t fit; in Raipur, he did the stabilising job alongside the skipper. That’s exactly what South Africa needed at that stage,” he added.