Hardik Pandya dismisses David Miller for 8th time in T20s
What's the story
Hardik Pandya played an instrumental role in India's triumph against South Africa in the T20I series opener in Cuttack. After playing a magnificent 59-run knock, Pandya struck in the early stages of the innings by dismissing David Miller for just 1 run. The dismissal came in the seventh over as SA were folded for their lowest T20I total (74/10) while chasing a 176-run target. Here we decode Pandya's rivalry against Miller in T20Is.
Match update
Pandya's all-round performance powers India to win
Pandya trapped Miller with a length ball outside the off stump. The latter could only manage to edge the ball as wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma took a fine catch. Earlier, Pandya had played a stellar innings of 59 runs off just 28 balls, hitting four sixes and six fours. His explosive batting helped India post a competitive total of 175/6.
Stats
8 dismissals across 15 T20 meetings
Hardik has now dismissed Miller as many as eight times across 15 T20 innings, as per ESPNcricinfo. The Proteas middle-order batter has scored 70 runs off 55 balls in this battle at a paltry average of 8.75. Notably, Miller has a strike-rate of 127.27 against Pandya. No other bowler has trapped the southpaw more than four times in T20 cricket.
Information
What about internationals?
It is worth noting that six of Miller's six T20 dismissals against Hardik have come in internationals. The Proteas batter's strike-rate falls further down to 104.76 in this regard, having managed just 44 runs in 42 balls. Miller hasn't got out to any other bowler more than thrice in T20Is.