SA v Aus 1st T20I Review: Killer Miller guides Proteas to an exciting victory

A smashing knock of 53 off 35 balls from David Miller saw the South Africans clinch the opening T20I at Kingsmead, Durban by 3 wickets. The match witnessed Steve Smith’s Australia lose their fourth T20I in a row following a 3-0 whitewash against the Indians at home.

The wicket turned out to be a typical Durban wicket, one that assisted batting as well as had a few patches of grass to help the faster bowlers. It was also clear at the start of the match that the slower bowlers would also play a major factor in the progression of the match.

Steve Smith called correctly and opted to have a bat first. Kagiso Rabada removed the dangerous Usman Khawaja after the latter attempted to clear the deep square leg boundary. The returning Aaron Finch was impressive as he decimated the South African bowling. His clinical 40 of just 18 balls included 4 massive sixes. David Warner, who came in at no.3 too found the middle of the bat as he too dispatched the ball to the boundary at will. The swashbuckling knock, however, came to an end as David Weise’s first delivery of the match sent Warner back to the dressing room. The damage was seemingly complete with the score at 69/2 off 6.1 overs and the visitors looking to get a massive score.

That, however, wasn’t to be as Steve Smith’ 6 runs ate away 17 deliveries. He also was removed by a slower bouncer from Weise. Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh smashed 17 and 35 respectively as the Aussies went past the par score on their way towards a competitive total. However, that wasn’t to be courtesy of some splendid tight bowling from the Proteas, Imran Tahir, in particular, ensured that the Australian innings concluded at 157/9.

Nathan Coulter-Nile was drafted into the Australian squad amid a plethora of injuries. The first ball he bowled perhaps wasn’t even a part of his wildest dreams. AB de Villiers nicked the opening ball of the South African innings to Peter Nevill while the Durban crowd stood in silence, shell shocked. A horrible shot selection from Quinton de Kock and a magnificent catch from Aaron Finch at mid wicket to dismiss JP Dunmiy saw the Proteas stuttering at 3-41. Rilee Russouw and David Weise also fell soon after with the score at 95/6.

With the run rate scaling enormous heights, Chris Morris and David Miller began to reduce the odds on an Australian win. The duo initially began rotating the strike, following which the big shots became imminent. After the wicket of Chris Morris, David Miller returned to his destructive best. Two of Miller’s three sixes landed on the roof as he smashed a valuable 53. Kyle Abbott, Durban native smashed the winning runs with a smack down the wicket to secure a hard fought win for South Africa. For Australia Nathan Coulter-Nile filled the role magnificently, concluding with figures of 3/29 off his four overs.

Brief Scores:

Australia – 157/9 in 20 overs (Finch 40; Tahir 3/21)

South Africa – 158/7 in 19.2 overs (Miller 53*; Coulter-Nile 3/29)

Man of the Match: David Miller (South Africa)

Here is how Twitter reacted to South Africa’s exciting victory – Twitter Reactions: South Africa chase down 158 to win a thriller