New Delhi: David Miller created history during South Africa vs Australia clash in the semi-final 2 of the ongoing edition of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on November 16. He became the first Proteas batter to hit a century in the World Cup knockout stage. The previous best was 82 which belonged to Faf du Plessis. He played that knock against New Zealand in 2015 semi-finals
Miller’s knock helped SA to post a fighting total in the crucial clash. However, his astonishing knock came to an end right after his ton as he was caught in the deep by Travis Head when the Proteas heavy-hitter was trying to provide his team with some final over blitz.
A well-earned for David Miller
What An Innings from this MAN #CWC23 #WozaNawe #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/R0Ojv2Oz2j
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 16, 2023
South Africa got all out for 212 runs and Miller scored 101 runs out of them. He helped revive his team from a batting collapse. The Australian bowling line-up put on a great outing and never allowed Proteas to get in the game.
The 95-run partnership between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller helped South Africa reach a fighting total. SA lost both their openers on the score of 8 and the next two by the time the score was 24.
“Really big (importance of this knock.) Glad to get the hundred, but we want to win at the end of the day. Helped the team to score a decent score with those partnerships. Expected these conditions at the start of the match, but we were on the back foot after four down in the powerplay,” said Miller in the mid-innings show.
“Managed to put up a couple of partnerships (with Klaasen and Coetzee), think we fought hard. It’s about watching every ball and staying in the moment, trusting your preparation. It’s one-ball-at-a-time. We need to put them under pressure in the powerplay by taking wickets. It’s about using the conditions, bowling in the right areas,” he added.