South Africa won the two-match series 1-0, which was their first series win at home since they beat the West Indies 2-0 in January 2015. The last time South Africa won a series away from home was in the one-match series in Zimbabwe in August 2014.
Steyn, who grabbed 5/33 in the second innings in what was his 26th five-wicket haul, finished with match figures of eight for 99 to regain the top slot. Steyn claimed 10 scalps in the series, and now lies just five Test wickets behind Shaun Pollock on 421 as the leading wicket-taker for South Africa in the longest format of the game.
After reclaiming the No.1 ranking in February 2014 against Australia at Centurion, the 33-year-old had enjoyed the top spot until a shoulder injury in the Durban Test against England in December 2015 limited his bowling. India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took advantage of Steyn’s absence and backed up by some strong individual performances, finished the year as the top-ranked bowler.
Steyn has leapfrogged Ashwin and top-ranked England pace bowler James Anderson to take the top slot, which he first occupied jointly with retired Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralidaran in April 2008.
Steyn has now been number-one for a record 263 Tests with Muralidaran coming second in the list at 214 weeks. In terms of days, Steyn has spent 2,320 days at the top, the most by any bowler since World War II.
Steyn’s new ball partners – Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada – have also made significant gains in the latest bowlers’ rankings, which were released on Wednesday morning.
Philander, who took four wickets in the Centurion Test, has moved from 13th to 11th position, while Rabada has gained three places to rise to 27th position after grabbing five wickets in the match.
The good news for New Zealand is its fast bowler Neil Wagner has moved up one slot to ninth position following his six wickets in the match, including a first innings haul of 5/86.
In the Test batting rankings, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis’s unbeaten century in the first innings has contributed in him moving up the ladder.
