David Miller scored an unbeaten 23 off 13 deliveries, smashing two humongous maximums in the final over to turn the tide of the match.
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David Miller was back at his absolute finishing best on Saturday as he played an explosive cameo to win a nail-biting match for South Africa against Sri Lanka in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The pressure was just too much for Lahiru Kumara who was asked to bowl the final over and defend 15 runs. Wanindu Hasaranga displayed an exceptional performance with the ball on the day as he picked an incredible hat-trick but it was in vain. Hasaranga dismissed the likes of Aiden Markram, skipper Temba Bavuma, and Dwaine Pretorius to completely disrupt the Proteas’ run chase. Sri Lanka recorded a score of 142 in 20 overs and the Proteas made 146-6. The win will give immense confidence to South Africa for the rest of the competition. There seemed a point when Sri Lanka seemed to be well on their way to record the victory due to the Hasaranga hat-trick but Miller completely turned the tables.
There were a number of South Africa batters that got off to a decent start. However, nobody except skipper Bavuma could get a good score. The Proteas skipper played a fine knock, scoring 46 runs off 46 deliveries in an innings that included one boundary and one maximum. Markram got a few runs as well on the day as he scored 19 runs off 20 balls. Rassie van der Dussen played a short cameo of 16 runs in 11 deliveries.
However, it was the heavy-hitting of Miller that ultimately saw the Proteas home. The batter scored an unbeaten 23 runs off just 13 deliveries and hit two humongous maximums in the final over to turn the tide of the match in his team’s favour. Things were finished off by Kagiso Rabada with a boundary as he scored an unbeaten 13 off seven deliveries.
The biggest positive for the Lankan Lions on the day was Hasaranga. The Sri Lankan bowler picked three extremely crucial wickets at an important time. Hasaranga dismissed an in-form Markram for 19, Bavuma for 46, and Pretorius for a golden duck. It was an absolutely brilliant spell of bowling and something that would give Hasaranga immense confidence.
Veteran pacer Dushmantha Chameera also bowled a brilliant spell as he picked a couple of wickets and conceded only 27 runs in his four overs. He was asked to bowl the 19th over of the second innings and did a fine job. Chameera was dispatched for a maximum by Rabada but apart from that, the veteran kept things tight.
South African bowlers Tabraiz Shamsi and Dwaine Pretorius each had three dismissals to help Sri Lanka be dismissed for 142. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Avishka Fernando, and Wanindu Hasaranga were returned to the pavillion by Shamsi. Pretorius was responsible for the dismissals of Pathum Nissanka, skipper Dasun Shanaka, and Chamika Karunaratne. Anrich Nortje added two more wickets to his tally. Nissanka was Sri Lanka’s leading run-scorer, scoring 72 runs off 58 deliveries. The opener’s innings included six boundaries and three sixes. With 21 runs from 14 balls, Charith Asalanka was the second-highest run-scorer.
