The tension of that win, compared with the ease with which they got past New Zealand, and now India, may make you think things are getting less pressured as the tournament goes on. Not so, said Miller. “It wasn’t easy. Playing against India is always really difficult. We’ve played a lot against them and with them as well, but beyond that – and when it’s two big teams like that – it’s about making sure that you do the simple things for a longer period of time. When the pressure does come, you kind of absorb it, get through that. It takes a team effort.”
While South Africa’s total of 187 in Ahmedabad was “fair”, as Miller put it, they were actually “pushing for 200” and fell short, but made up for it with their bowling. “Getting three wickets in the powerplay got us back phenomenally well, and we backed it up with good fielding. It was an all-round great performance. We put them under pressure and, yeah, it was good to get a win over this.”
“The guys executed really, really well. They changed up quite a lot with Lungi Ngidi coming in and bowling a lot of slow balls. In the lineup that was really dangerous, and that hit a lot of sixes and a lot of boundaries, it’s just accepting the fact that they’re really good and making sure that you kind of put that aside and come up with plans that might be different,” Miller said. “And Keshav Maharaj, he’s an experienced player, he’s bowled a lot of overs in his life in pressure situations. The guys bowled phenomenally well.”
South Africa’s next match is against West Indies on Thursday, at the same venue.
