"It's always nice to play in India against India" - David Miller ahead of five-game T20 series
South Africa batter David Miller says he relishes the challenge of playing India on their home turf. He stated that he is looking forward to facing them in the upcoming five-match T20 series. The southpaw also remains wary of the hosts despite the absence of their first-choice players.
Miller, who is coming off a stellar IPL 2022 season, will be key to the tourists doing well in India. The left-hander played an integral role in the Gujarat Titans' title victory. He clobbered 481 runs in 16 matches at 68.71, with two fifties, by keeping a strike rate of 142.72.
18-member #TeamIndia squad for the upcoming five-match Paytm T20I home series against South Africa.
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Speaking to SA Cric Mag, the 32-year-old admitted that the IPL has given India enormous depth and players who have gained experience handling pressure. He observed that the home side have some serious match-winners and expects a closely-fought series. He said:
"Yeah, team India is team India. I think in the last couple of years due to the IPL, they've got a lot of depth. Very experienced players and dealing with a lot of pressure, the IPL will definitely help them in international cricket. So, we definitely know they don't have their strongest team."
He added:
"But they are a serious team nonetheless with some serious match-winners and it's going to be a challenging series and we are aware of that. It's always nice to play in India against India. Hopefully, it can be a nice competitive series and we can beat team."
Miller, who toured India for the three-game T20 series in 2019, didn't have much of a role to play. The first T20I couldn't happen due to persistent showers. He scored an 15-ball 18 in the second and did not bat in the third.
"We've built up a nice squad in the last year and a half and guys are understanding their roles a lot better" - David Miller
The Natal-born player also highlighted that South Africa will use the upcoming T20 series to iron out a few chinks in their squad. They will look gain confidence ahead of the T20I World Cup later this year. He said:
"Yeah, I think, looking back on our last two months, we haven't played any game since the World Cup last year. So, just getting back into the swing of things with our T20 squad. We've built up a nice squad in the last year and a half and guys are understanding their roles a lot better."
He added:
"So, I think it's just about ironing out a few things and try to get that blueprint back to where we were and winning and gaining confidence leading up to the World Cup, which would be priceless."
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David Miller reached his century in just 35 balls!
The other two to reach the milestone in the same number of deliveries are Rohit Sharma (IND v SL) and Sudesh Wickramasekara (CZE v TUR)
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It's worth noting that the opening T20 against India in Delhi on June 9 will be the Proteas' first since November 2021.