After a top-order collapse in overcast conditions at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, David Miller rescued South Africa with a 101-run knock against Australia in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 semifinal. Miller became the first no.6 batter to score a century in a World Cup semifinal. The previous best score for a no.6 batter in a World Cup semifinal belonged to Australia's Michael Bevan who scored 69 against West Indies in the 1996 edition of the event.
Only five batters including Miller and Bevan have scored fifty-plus runs at no.6 position in a World Cup semifinal. Bevam appears twice in the list. He scored 65 runs against South Africa in the 1999 edition. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the next batter on the list with a 65-run knock against New Zealand in 2015. Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq is the next on the list with a 37-ball 60 against New Zealand in 1992. For New Zealand, Corey Anderson had scored 58 against South Africa in 2015.
Miller walked into bat when South Africa were 24/4. After the rain interruption, he steadied the ship with Heinrich Klaasen. He hit his first six off the innings off Adam Zampa off the 16th ball he faced. Just when the partnership looked threatening, part-time off-spinner Travis Head got the wicket of Klaasen who scored 47 runs from 48 balls. They shared a 95-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Head struck again and dismissed Marco Jansen to push South Africa on the back foot again.
Miller completed his half-century with a boundary in the 32nd over. Gerald Coetzee did not score freely but played the supporting role. After the 53-run partnership for the seventh wicket, Miller tried to accelerate in the slog overs. In the 48th over, he reached his century with a six off Pat Cummins. He went for a big shot again but got caught by Head in the deep.
Miller's 101-run knock from 116 balls featured eight fours and five sixes. Miller's knock helped South Africa post a respectable total of 212 in tough batting conditions.
“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. Managed to put up a couple of partnerships (with Klaasen and Coetzee), think we fought hard,” Miller told the broadcasters during the innings break.
“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.
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