With the left-handed South Africa dashing batter David Miller failing to take them over the line, during the final of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, where he was caught sharply by Suryakumar Yadav, there were rumors of him handing his shoes from this format.
South Africa faced another heartbreaking defeat in the final of the ICC tournament, where they slipped from a comfortable position, where they needed 30 runs at run-a-ball with six wickets in hand, besides having two of the best aggressive batters- David Miller himself, and Heinrich Klassen still out in the middle.
But India came back well after sending back Klassen thanks to Hardik Pandya, where the wicket-keeper batter chased the wide ball away from his body to get a nick that the wicket-keeper caught quite easily.
‘Really tough pill to swallow’- David Miller on T20 World Cup final defeat
With India deciding to bat first on a slow and low surface, the early nerves didn’t help the Proteas to start highly, but they made a great comeback in the second over, after being belted away for four boundaries in the very first over of the game.
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Keshav Maharaj sent back both Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma, while Suryakumar Yadav got a wrong foot on the fifth over of the innings, as the unbeaten Indian side came under pressure, being three down inside the powerplay.
The need of the hour was to get a partnership and India did that exactly for two back-to-back wickets, as the South Africa side couldn’t break the partnership and ended up giving away 10 runs more than the par score.
Even though the Aiden Markram-led side didn’t make a great start with the bat too in the powerplay, having lost the underperformed opener Reeza Hendricks and the captain himself, they never allowed the required run rate to go away from their hand, and that was the most vital and smartest work they did.
At one point, with the onslaught from Klassen and others, especially against the spinners, the South African side found themselves in the driver’s seat. But once, the wicket-keeper batter got out, the responsibility of carrying them home was on David Miller’s shoulder.
He gave singles for the 18th and 19th over, where the other batters were not getting the timing sweetly, and felt the heat of the finals game. When Hardik Pandya came to bowl the last six balls of the encounter, the left-handed batter found himself on strike, with 16 runs being required.
Pandya went for a yorker, but the ball was away from the batter’s body and transformed into a low full toss. The veteran smashed the ball but couldn’t get the elevation that he expected and ended up seeing Suryakumar Yadav taking a great and sharp catch, using his balance and clarity of mind at that time.
Since then the reports suggested that perhaps David Miller had called his time from the format, but the player himself coming on Instagram has blown away such reports, making him available for the format in the future.
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‘Contrary to reports, I have not retired from T20 international cricket. I will continue to be available for the Proteas. The best is yet to come.’ David Miller wrote in his Instagram story.
The 35-year-old has collected 2437 T20I runs for the Proteas at an average of around 34, and a strike rate of 141, with a couple of centuries and seven fifties, with a best score of unbeaten 106 runs.
‘I am gutted!! Really tough pill to swallow after what transpired 2 days ago. Words don’t explain how I am feeling. One thing I do know is how proud I am of this unit.’ David Miller wrote in a post in the same social media platform. ‘This journey was an incredible one, with highs and lows throughout the entire month. We have endured pain, but I know this team has the resilience and will keep raising the bar.’