David Miller’s fighting fifty guides South Africa to 219 for 8 against ‘much improved’ Pakistan in ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Group B clash

Miller completed his fifty — slowest of his ODI career — off 83 balls. It was akin to a big hundred on a perfect batting track. Thanks to his effort, South African bowlers now have a total which is likely to challenge Pakistan.

A much improved showing by the Pakistan bowling unit saw South Africa being restricted to 219 for 8 from their stipulated 50 overs in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Group B fixture at Edgbaston on Wednesday. In a do-or-die encounter, the Pakistan bowlers came out all guns blazing, striking at regular intervals and stopping South Africa at a modest total. Speedster Hasan Ali was the pick of the bowlers, with his three-wicket haul. The duo of Mohammed Aamer and Junaid Khan was also impressive, with the former not being lucky enough to get wickets to his account. Imad Wasim too had an great outing, returning with figures of 2 for 20 from his 8 overs. Full Cricket Scorecard: Pakistan vs South Africa, ICC Champions Trophy 2017

For South Africa, only David Miller stood tall, scoring a fine 75 not out to take his team to a fighting total on a tricky wicket. Miller was the reason South Africa could cross the 200-run mark after being 118 for 6 at one stage.

Earlier, AB de Villiers won the toss and opted to bat first. He announced South Africa were unchanged for the game while Pakistan made two changes, bringing in debutant Fakhar Zaman and Junaid in place of Ahmed Shehzad and Wahab Riaz respectively. The South African team came out sporting a yellow and green kit. The reason for the same was revealed by the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Twitter handle, which confirmed it was team’s away kit as the Proteas played this game as away team.

With Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock opening the innings, it was always going to be quite a task for the Pakistan bowlers, especially after the thrashing their confidence received at the hands of Indian batsmen.

Amla and de Kock started in the similar fashion as they did against Sri Lanka, being subdued at the beginning. To their credit, Pakistani bowlers were right on the money from the beginning and were unlucky not to get wickets upfront. Pakistan made the first bowling change in the 8th over and got success immediately. Imad got the big fish Amla on the second ball of his first over, trapping him in front of the stumps. Amla walked knowing it was plumb.

De Kock did not last long after losing his partner. He was lucky to survive in the 12th over, when a huge lbw appeal was turned down by the umpire and Pakistan did not review. However, he could add just 4 runs to his total before Mohammad Hafeez finally got him in similar fashion two overs later.

Things got worse when de Villiers got dismissed in the next over for a golden duck — first of his ODI career. He offered Hafeez a simple catch at point, which was gleefully accepted by the fielder. Suddenly, South Africa were in tatters at 61 for 3. Faf du Plessis and Miller then tried resurrecting the innings and added 29 runs for the fourth wicket.

But it was Hasan who pegged the Protea side back with three quick wickets. He first castled du Plessis (26), who dragged one on to the stumps, before picking JP Duminy (8) and Wayne Parnell on consecutive deliveries. Both were similar deliveries to the left-handers, angling in from around the wicket. The one to Duminy was a bit fuller while the one to Parnell pitched at the good length. With these two wickets, South Africa were reduced to 118 for 6.

Miller and Chris Morris (28) then added vital 47 runs to take South Africa to 165, when Morris fell trying to cover the long-on boundary. Kagiso Rabada (26) then played a crucial knock to provide ample support to Miller, who ensured South Africa finished on 219. Miller completed his fifty — slowest of his ODI career — off 83 balls. It was akin to a big hundred on a perfect batting track. Thanks to his effort, South African bowlers now have a total which is likely to challenge Pakistan.

Pakistan players, meanwhile, can take a lot of heart from their terrific bowling effort. If their batsmen can replicate the good showing by their bowlers, Pakistan stand a decent chance of winning this contest.

Brief scores:

South Africa 219 for 8 in 50 overs (David Miller 75*, Quinton de Kock 33, Chris Morris 28; Hasan Ali 3 for 24, Imad Wasim 2 for 20, Junaid Khan 2 for 53) vs Pakistan

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