IND vs SA 2022: "Well played, I'm sorry" - David Miller discloses Quinton de Kock's words after Proteas' narrow loss in 2nd T20

South African batter David Miller has stated how his compatriot Quinton de Kock blamed himself for their narrow defeat to India in the second T20I in Guwahati on Sunday, October 2. Miller, who scored 106* off 47 balls, credited the hosts for putting them under pressure early on.

Miller joined De Kock in the middle after left-arm spinner Axar Patel dismissed Aiden Markram for 33, with South Africa reeling at 47-3.

The destructive southpaw took some time to settle and almost helped the Proteas chase down 238. While De Kock remained unbeaten on 69 off 48 balls, he struggled to get going for most of his innings. The duo shared an unbeaten 174-run stand.

🚨 RESULT | INDIA WIN BY 16 RUNS

An unbroken 174-run partnership, off 90 balls, between David Miller (106*) and Quinton de Kock (69*) threatened to take the game away from India but the task was too much as the hosts claim victory and secure the series

#INDvSA #BePartOfIt https://t.co/oKHB6poLld

Speaking after the 16-run loss, Miller credited De Kock for batting throughout and giving South Africa an outside chance of winning the high-scoring contest. He said:

"Quinton obviously struggled upfront but he managed to bat through and give us a chance. He is a capable batter of hitting fours and sixes, so it was just about getting in. As you saw, we were just 16 runs short. He walked up to me (after the game) and said 'Well played, I'm sorry'. It was a great wicket, and India put us under pressure from the start.

"We had to go from ball one and the freedom allowed us to express ourselves. It is raining out here and has been a bit wet (humidity). Was just taking as much water as possible."

The Men in Blue posted 237 - their fourth-highest total in T20Is - courtesy of half-centuries from KL Rahul (57 off 28) and Suryakumar Yadav (61 off 22). Rohit Sharma (43 off 37) and Virat Kohli (49* off 28) also made useful contributions, while Dinesh Karthik chipped in with an unbeaten seven-ball 17.

David Miller's 106* is South Africa's fourth-highest individual score in T20Is

Meanwhile, the swashbuckling knock by Miller is the fourth-highest score by a South African in T20Is.

Former skipper Faf du Plessis' 119* stands highest, followed by Richard Levi's 117* and Morne van Wyk's 114*. It was also Miller's second ton in T20Is as he became the first batter to score multiple hundreds in the format while batting at No. 5 or below.

Appreciation all around for David Miller. 👏👏

But it's #TeamIndia who win the second #INDvSA T20I to take an unassailable lead in the series. 🙌 🙌

Scorecard 👉 bit.ly/INDVSA-2NDT20I https://t.co/ShKkaF0inW

The 16-run loss also meant that South Africa have lost a T20I series for the first time on Indian soil. They won in 2015 and drew in 2019. Even in June earlier this year, the five-match rubber ended at 2-2 after the final game was washed out.

The Proteas will hope to end the series on a high by winning the third and final T20I in Indore on Tuesday, September 4.