South Africa’s win in Ahmedabad showed ‘India is beatable’: Miller after win in T20 World Cup

South Africa batter David Miller said that his biggest takeaway from their Super Eights win — in the T20 World Cup against the co-host — was the fact that ‘India is beatable’.

“India, as I mentioned, is an incredible team. But for us in a tournament like this, it’s about making sure that we do the simple things and make sure that we stay in our lane as a player and do the job and get the job done,” he told reporters after the match.

India suffered a 76-run loss to the Proteas in their Super Eights opener in Ahmedabad on Sunday, its first defeat in the tournament. The result ended its record 17 consecutive wins in ICC men’s white-ball tournaments, with the last loss coming to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, also in Ahmedabad.

“We’re a mature team. A lot of guys have played together and a lot of cricket for South Africa, and that goes a long way under pressure. So I think it’s just staying in your lane, making sure that you get the job done and keep wanting more.”

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Discussing his mantra against the dangerous Varun Chakaravarthy, Miller revealed that shedding tentativeness and showing more intent did the trick.

Chakravarthy, who had a tremendous record against South Africa until the Sunday game, went for 47 in four overs, with both Miller and Dewald Brevis taking him to the cleaners.

“I think it’s just about really making sure that we were on it in terms of if he bowls a bad ball, we got to put it away – so a little bit more intent, and it wasn’t spinning too much tonight, so you can kind of trust the line.

“And once we felt that, then we felt, OK, we’ve got to take him down, because he is a threat to every team that he does play against. So it was definitely something that we did speak about,” Miller, who smashed 63 off 35 balls, said.

Having played the game for long enough, the near-37 Miller knows that when the day comes, one needs to seize it.

“It’s taken a bit of time. I’ve been playing the game for a while now, and it’s about making sure that I really do stick to it when there are high-pressure moments in front of a big audience like tonight.

And then, this is a game of risks, and you are going to fail as a cricketer otherwise. So it’s about making sure that you are playing to your terms,” Miller quipped.