Having mowed down India with a career-best seven-wicket haul in the first Test, South African speedster Dale Steyn said the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Murali Vijay gave him the most satisfaction because of the planning that went behind their dismissals.

“That one (Tendulkar’s wicket) and Vijay just before him (were special),” said the 26-year-old pacer at the end of third day’s play.

“I worked him (Vijay) out quite nicely with two balls that went away and then bringing one back which he left. That kind of stuff just doesn’t happen out in the middle. We’ve really planned it, that kind of stuff,” explained the pacer.

Steyn said it was important to set the field positions right and that’s the reason these dismissals were special.

“It’s a challenge for the captain too to make sure the fielders are in the right position for those specific deliveries as well. That makes those wickets so sweet,” Steyn said.

He said coach Corrie van Zyl was not happy with the bowlers’ efforts in the middle session and during the tea break, he asked them to lift their performance.

“Corrie sat us down at tea and said that the session after lunch wasn’t good enough. We didn’t get the wickets that we wanted and we went for a few runs. He asked us to lift it up a little bit,” Steyn said.