David Miller unleashed his power-hitting skills on Tuesday (December 11) as he took the Pakistan bowlers to task and played a mind-blowing knock of 82 runs off just 40 balls to help his side go 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series.
The southpaw was unstoppable in terms of his approach at the crease and Pakistan’s bowling attack was left bemused. Miller batted at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 205.00 and sucked the life out of Pakistan at Kingsmead in Durban.
Notably, Miller’s 82-run knock has helped him complete 2550 runs for South Africa in the shortest format of the game. He needs to score 35 more runs to leapfrog Quinton de Kock and become the all-time leading run-getter for the Proteas in T20Is.
De Kock is currently the highest run-scorer for South Africa in T20Is with 2584 runs to his credit. While Miller is behind de Kock in terms of runs, he has a better average and strike rate compared to him.
De Kock has accumulated his runs at a strike rate of 138.32 and an average of 31.51 whereas Miller’s T20I runs have come at a strike rate of 141.19 and an average of 33.55.
Miller also has the joint-most hundreds (2) for South Africa in T20Is alongside Rilee Rossouw. He also has eight half-centuries to his credit.
Meanwhile, Miller’s knock combined with a quick-fire 48 off 24 balls from George Linde allowed South Africa to post 183 on the board. It proved to be too much of a task for Pakistan as they fell 11 runs short in the end despite their skipper Mohammad Rizwan scoring a 62-ball 74. The 2nd T20I will be played in Centurion on December 13.
