South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has predicted big things for a released Mumbai Indians star after he played a crucial role in his team's win over India in the T20I in Gqeberha.
South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has predicted big things for a released Mumbai Indians star after he played a crucial role in his team’s win over India in the T20I in Gqeberha.
Gerald Coetzee, who had clocked over 146kph with the ball in the game, sent back Abhishek Sharma with a brilliant bouncer, and finished with figures of 1.25 in his four overs. In the previous game, Coetzee had recorded figures of 3/37 despite India making a 200-plus total.
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Having shown his mettle with the bat in the previous game with some angry strikes from down the order in a 11-ball 23, Coetzee went on to add to his reputation with a match-winning contribution on Sunday.
The all-rounder walked in with South Africa in deep trouble after Varun Chakravarthy ran through the middle-order to reduce the hosts to 86/7. The likes of Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks were all back in the hut, bamboozled by Varun as South Africa seemed headed for a defeat.
With Varun’s overs done, there was relief for the Proteas as Stubbs and Coetzee stitched together a partnership. South Africa needed 37 runs off four overs when Suryakumar Yadav decided to go with the pacers over Axar Patel, who had bowled only one over until then.
The decision received flak given how the Proteas were clearly struggling against Varun and Ravi Bishnoi on a track where batting was hard.
Coetzee swung Arshdeep Singh for a six and Stubbs finished the 17th over with a four to pull things back for the Proteas. Avesh Khan’s over went for more – Coetzee began the over with two fours as South Africa got the equation closer with a 12-run over.
With 13 needed off 12 balls, Stubbs laid into Arshdeep, sending him for four fours in the 19th over to seal the win with an over to spare.
Stubbs remained unbeaten on 47 off 41 balls while Coetzee’s crucial 19* took just nine deliveries.
Steyn reserved special praise for Coetzee, whose celebrations after a wicket have often been compared to the South African legend.
“Coetzee bowling gas, hitting HUGE sixes. If anything from this series, he’s getting some IPL attention,” Steyn tweeted.
Released by Mumbai Indians after IPL 2024, Coetzee is back in the radar of IPL teams with his impressive showing in this series so far.
With just two weeks to go for the IPL 2025 mega auction, Coetzee’s performances could not have been more timely. The South Africa is now in prime position to grab a lucrative deal in the IPL 2025 auction.
Steyn also made a mention of Stubbs, who won the Player of the Match award. Stubbs, who is also a former Mumbai Indians player, was retained by Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
Earlier after the first game, India pacer legend Zaheer Khan had also praised Coetzee, stating that his “attitude was a must” in today’s T20 era on the Cricbuzz show.
Coetzee will be up against some world-class all-rounders from across the globe at the IPL auction in Jeddah on November 2024 and 2025. These recent performances, though, would likely help him land a deal with one of the franchises.
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