“Not everyone gets rewarded …” David Miller makes a bold claim regarding the T 20 World Cup final loss

Miller admitted defeat to India in the T20 World Cup and recalled how he felt about the last over in the final when South Africa had to chase 16 runs and was bowled over by Pandya, who was bowling last for the very first time. Perturbed, Miller looked back at when entirely against his expectations a Mumbai bowler bowled a full toss in the last over to the number of runs he needed to score and hence couldn’t time it. There was a sadness in him while stating about the catch taken by Suryakumar Yadav on that particular ball and he felt that he let his country down at such a crucial time.

“Not everyone gets rewarded in this sport. I don’t think I would have played any differently, save for better timing. I wasn’t even really prepared for a delivery of that type. I do, in fact, picture a full toss as a possibility, but that one surprised me and I got it just slightly wrong. However, there was a small gust of wind that was blowing across us. Not directly towards us. But it was a little bit more across and in,” Miller said speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

Perhaps the most memorable catch of the entire tournament came from Suryakumar Yadav when he made a remarkable dive and caught the ball thereby dismissing David Miller in the last over of the match at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown on June 29, Saturday for T20 World Cup 2024 finals. Importantly, it was Miller who came out to bat last for South Africa as they needed 16 runs to win from the last over.

Miller thought he had applied the right force, but it came up short only for Suryakumar to produce a T20 World Cup final winning catch.

“Therefore, the margins are very small which was really disappointing. I thought I put enough on it. I understood it was going to be close. You know you kind of have that instinct when you strike the ball that it is going to be close. Thought I put enough on it but yah it just kind of was there and the rest is history,” he spoke further.

As the first ball of the over, Miller faced and struck a full toss from Hardik Pandya which went up high into the sky only for Suryakumar Yadav stationed at long on to take it comfortably. The cricketer from India, however, was alert enough to seize the opportunity and after taking the catch almost on the ropes, released the ball quickly as he carried himself out of the playing surface.

Miller expressed what was running through him at that particular point as the maiden World Cup title seemed to be falling away from South Africa one more time.

“Frustration, disappointment, failure. Such destructive things crowd your mind all at the same time. It was time for me to win the match. But it was not for me to win it. I am ashamed of myself for letting my team and country down. It’s quite a tough moment to come to terms with.”