David Miller was sensational in the field against Pakistan at the Newlands and guided South Africa to secure a narrow 6-run win in first T20I of the three-match series.
Miller showed his brilliance and value in the field by executing two direct-hit run-outs, and bagging four fantastic catches to help the home team cross over the line and to earn himself the Man of the Match award.
The left-handed batsman didn’t have a good day with the bat as he fell for a tame 10 off 12 balls in the Proteas innings. His match-winning performance began with a well-executed run-out of Babar Azam when the Pakistani opener looked to steal a single where none was on offer. Miller made no mistake as he collected the ball and smashed it on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
The southpaw followed that up with two superb catches – one at midwicket and the other just inside the long-on boundary – to get rid of the dangerous Asif Ali and Imad Wasim within the span of four balls.
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He soon came back into action on the last ball of the 17th over to save Beuran Hendricks from blushing after the speedster dropped a sitter on the bowling of Andile Phehlukwayo. Hendricks gathered the ball and attempted a run-out, but the ball was well wide of the stumps and ran on to Miller at midwicket. The Proteas’ fielding ace saw the Pakistani batsmen attempting a second run and had a shy at the stumps, running out Mohammad Rizwan for just two runs at the end of the eventful play.
Miller at the back-end of the innings also took a superb catch to dismiss Hassan Ali before the right-hander could cause any serious damage to the Proteas’ chances. He then rounded off his efforts in the field with his fourth catch to send the Pakistani captain Shoaib Malik back into the hut, just when he looked to take the visitors over the line.
Didn’t get enough of @DavidMillerSA12 last night? Here’s a second look at his exceptional performance. Catch more #KFCT20 action tomorrow at the Bidvest Wanderers live on SuperSport 2, SABC 3 & Radio 2000. #ProteaFire #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/Mvqe5n6Hho
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 2, 2019
