Dale Steyn dismissed Ahmed Shehzad to set the well-set batsman back and which triggered a collapse in Abu Dhabi. Satish Kumar / The National
Dale Steyn dismissed Ahmed Shehzad to set the well-set batsman back and which triggered a collapse in Abu Dhabi. Satish Kumar / The National

Cricket

‘Intensity’ of Dale Steyn and Proteas sparks Pakistan collapse

Imran Tahir took four wickets but it was Dale Steyn;s intensity and one over that changed it all for Proteas to lead 2-1 in the ODI series.

Osman Samiuddin

November 06, 2013

ABU DHABI // Dale Steyn picked up just one wicket, but it took only one over from him to change the mood and complexion of the third ODI at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium last night.

Ahmed Shehzad had hurled Pakistan into a blistering start as they chased South Africa’s workmanlike 259. They had reached 50 in the eighth over and Shehzad had creamed seven pristine boundaries off Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. The chase looked a doddle.

But having served notice in a threatening first over to Mohammad Hafeez, Steyn dismissed Shehzad in his second and as swiftly as their hopes had inflated, they were now punctured.

Imran Tahir, Morkel and Ryan McLaren all picked up more wickets as Pakistan duly combusted, but the match was effectively decided with Steyn’s intervention, South Africa ultimately cruising to a 68-run victory and a 2-1 series lead.

“Steyn is a wonderful bowler; he’s close to perfect,” De Villiers said. “He brings in intensity to the team and he ups the pace of the game. He brings this intensity which is irreplaceable.”

De Villiers’ messages before the game to his batsmen, urging them to buckle down and sweat out some substantial scores, had worked. Five of the top six got at least 34, notably Faf du Plessis. Under pressure after a series of low scores, Du Plessis moved up to No 3 and made a punchy half-century to give South Africa early impetus.

“Faf was under pressure to perform and that’s how big players perform,” De Villiers said.

JP Duminy and De Villiers himself worked a subtle but critical 70-run partnership full of hard running to take advantage and take South Africa to a solid score. “We want to come with the same kind of energy in the next match to win the series here itself, in the next ODI,” De Villiers said.

osamiuddin@thenational.ae

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Multitasking pays off for money goals

Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.

That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.

"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.

Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."

People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.

"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."