Australia’s “X-Factor” inspires David Miller to play match-winning knock for South Africa

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India]: South Africa’s explosive middle order batter David Miller hailed Australia counterpart Glenn Maxwell for his odds-defying knock against Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium.

Maxwell overcame severe cramps and a back spasm to smash 201* in just 128 balls (21 fours and 10 sixes) against Afghanistan on Tuesday to help the Baggy Greens reach the semifinals.

With Aussies at 91/7 in a run-chase of 292 at one point, Maxwell and skipper Pat Cummins snatched the victory away from the jaws of defeat. The experienced right-handed batter produced one of the best knocks in the history of the World Cup.

Miller sang Maxwell’s praises and admitted that the Australian is inspiring him to play such a knock for the Proteas as well.

“Of course. Seeing a knock like that was really special. He’s an X-Factor, a match-winner. It was inspiring to see no foot movement there and still hitting sixes and fours from a game where they were dead and buried,” Miller said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the clash against Afghanistan.

“We’ve seen from our side, we’ve chased games where we’re kind of out of it as well and done certain things that were particularly special, though. But yeah, I mean, it was, I suppose, where the game of cricket is going, you kind of always believe as you go along.

You just tick over the balls, get through the overs, and kind of see how it unfolds. And you never know what is possible. So just to keep believing throughout,” Miller added.

In the current World Cup, Miller has turned up to play short cameos for South Africa, adding runs after playing a few number of balls. In eight matches Miller has scored 231 runs at an average of 28.87, he will be looking to add more to his tally as the World Cup approaches its climax.

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.

Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.