You can feel the pain in David Miller’s voice when he speaks. The pain of being labeled inconsistently. In his early years, Miller was a huge hit among the fans of Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). His century against RCB in 2013 made you feel that the 23-year-old Protea has finally aged out. And he certainly did. He scored 418 and 446 runs in two consecutive years (2013 and 2014). The next time he will participate in such levels is in 2022, seven years later.
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In between, Miller was not the same man who put RCB’s fielders to sleep on that fateful night. 2016 was the first time he showed nervousness with the bat and then went downhill. Years like 2020 and 2021 were particularly harsh where he hardly played any games, only ten in two seasons. The result was that his form was affected and he scored 124 runs. More than the runs, it affected his psyche. The South African, who was in the middle of a stellar season for Gujarat Titans, recalled the tough times.
“I feel like I am repeating myself. But one thing that has changed this season is that I am playing every game. Last four-five years in IPL….I had a bad season in 2016 and Then I didn’t feel supported at all. That’s the nature of IPL. There are so many foreign players and only four can play. I had to go back and work on my game. However I found it very difficult to play for home teams in South Africa. Nice, but I was looking for that good nick. That’s what happened this season.”
“I’ve been playing all sports and it allows you to settle down. Which doesn’t really help you worry about selection, but wins the game,” he said in a pre-match press conference ahead of the big IPL final.
“As you get older and mature, you understand pressure and how to deal with failures. What works for you as a player. What do you need to do and what you don’t need to do? , “They said.
Miller, who made his IPL debut in 2011 at the age of 21, has seen it all. He has been the star of Kings XI Punjab, then saw everything. He was even stripped of his captaincy by the franchise on one occasion. Maybe he’s right. This type of maturity in their thirties can only be accumulated through setbacks. Thankfully, it looks like he has finally found his match. A team where he can be himself.
“The environment is a big part of all of our performances. If the players are well taken care of off the field, and you make them feel comfortable. And you can be yourself. It will come out in the game.”
Going through their life forms, Protea is redefining the rules of finishing in T20 cricket. Not only is the 32-year-old looking extremely fit, throwing himself around and stealing singles, his strike rate has also seen a rise. It turns out to be 141. As did the famous Krishna of Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier One.
GT needed 16 out of 6 in the knockout game, and ‘Killer Miller’ went. 6,6,6… Game over.
If Miller is doing well in the finishing act this season, he will find some competition from RCB’s Dinesh Karthik, who, like Miller, is making the most of the second wind. The RCB batsman had said that he practices for ‘these conditions’. Does Miller also resort to visualization? Turns out he did.
“When I’m training I imagine scenarios all the time. I don’t envision any particular scenario, but every time I face a bowler, I think about where the fielders will be. Or what kind I would be like. Would have been in position. I have been doing this for the last eight-nine years. And I think it helps a lot. You are not only hitting the balls in the nets, you have a purpose too,” he told News18 CricketNext. Answering the question, he said.
Miller is not the only finisher in Gujarat Titans. He has Rahul Tewatia, who proved time and again that he can be as calm and calculative as Miller. One case could be against Punjab Kings where both played their part and brought the equation to 12 out of 2. This is where Tewatia stepped in and hit six sixes after another to seal the deal. Miller said that he had “built relationships” with Teotia in Punjab and then in Rajasthan.
“I know him (Tevatia) very well. Sometimes in teams you need those connections. Because these relationships can also bring you over the line. We are very close and we understand each other’s game. as he is thinking. You should know what your partner’s character is.”
Both Miller and Tewatia will be the effective backbone of Gujarat Titan’s batting line-up when they take on the winner of Qualifier 2 between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Miller quipped that his eyes would be on the game as he had never played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“I have never seen the stadium, I have only seen pictures of it. I don’t know what the wicket is like.”
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