OTD in 1989: Birth of David Miller, South Africa’s most capped player in T20Is

An elegant stroke player, renowned for his power-hitting, David Miller is one of the most dangerous middle-order batters in limited-overs cricket. Whether it’s for a scintillating finish or rescuing the team after a top-order collapse, Miller has been a reliable option for South Africa over the years. Apart from his aggressive batting, the 35-year-old is also a gun fielder, which makes him a boon for any team he plays for.

After South Africa endured a poor outing in the 2010 T20 World Cup, the Proteas selectors were looking for fresh faces to adopt a new mindset in the shorter format of the game. One of their finds was Miller, who made his international debut on 20 May 2010 against the West Indies. The Pietermaritzburg-born cricketer did not take long to impress the management.

Miller made his ODI debut in the same month. The swashbuckling batter is the most capped South African player in T20Is – 118 matches. He has amassed over 2000 runs, including two hundred and seven half-centuries. Miller has represented the Rainbow Nation in 173 ODIs, scoring 4458 runs with the help of six centuries and 24 fifties.

IPL 2013 – A breakthrough season for David Miller

It was during the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) season that the cricketing world saw how dangerous Miller was. The Proteas hitter was bought by Kings XI Punjab (Punjab Kings) ahead of the tournament and he went on to play all the matches for them. In the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Miller smashed the third-fastest hundred in IPL history, scoring 101 not out off 38 balls.

His breathtaking knock led PBKS to a thrilling victory and forced rival skipper Virat Kohli to say it was one of the best innings he had seen in the history of the league. He was retained by the Punjab franchise in the 2014 IPL, where he helped the team reach their maiden final.

On his special day, South Africa is playing against Bangladesh in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Notably, Aiden Markram and Co. have the first two matches so far and are on the verge of qualifying for the Super 8s. Miller was adjudged Player of the Match against the Netherlands for his match-winning half-century. The southpaw had a brilliant campaign in the 2023 ODI World Cup and will now aim to continue his form in the remainder of the 20-over series. 

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