OPINION
Follow Us“He [David Miller] is lucky to get a contract,” said Harsha Bhogle during a Cricbuzz Live show on the eve of Gujarat Titans’ match against Rajasthan Royals.
“He is living on reputation,” replied Simon Doull in agreement.
Two of the finest cricketing voices going around the world, you cannot blame them no matter how harsh they sounded. Taking his astonishing knock in Match 29 of IPL 2022 aside for a moment, Miller averaged only 27.3 runs per dismissal at a strike rate of 126 in IPL since 2019.
The strike rate doesn’t cut it for a batter playing primarily as a finisher. The average is inflated by 16 not outs in 24 innings. Miller’s average knock in IPL during this period was 18 runs off 14 balls. It is unacceptable for any role as a specialist batter. The questions on his relevance in IPL were inevitable.
From being Punjab’s lead batter at the start of his IPL career, he degenerated into a backup batter for Rajasthan. In the mega auction for the 2022 season, Miller was unsold in the first round. It was the expansion to 10 teams that required an increased influx of players. Miller sneaked into Gujarat’s squad, on both “luck” and “reputation”.
On Sunday night, however, Miller showcased it is Gujarat’s good fortune to have him when the chips were down. They were 48/4 in a run chase of 170. Their only two batters to score a fifty in the season were out of contention to contribute - Hardik Pandya sitting out of the match and Shubman Gill out for a duck. They were also playing a batter short. Miller’s indifferent record didn’t add much confidence to the situation.
But even in the most hopeless of circumstances, one thing worked in favor of Gujarat. Miller was forced out to bat at his optimal entry point.
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Over the years, the left-hander has been perceived as a finisher which is the wrong assimilation of his batting technique. Miller is one of the few modern-day finishers who doesn’t rely on the funky ramp shots. Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell are probably the two other such batters who do most of their boundary hitting down the ground. But such is their muscle power that even the mishits are carried over the ropes. That isn’t the case with Miller. Even in his big shots, he relies more on his timing. That is what makes him an extremely captivating batsman to watch when it is his day.
“If it’s in the V, it’s in the tree; if it’s in the arc, it’s out of the park” is the ideology he has built his game on.
The same makes him more suited to walk out to bat in the first half of the innings rather than the last quarter. Since 2019, Miller has walked out to bat within the powerplay on 18 occasions and averages 37.7 at a strike rate of 140.1 as an attacking anchor. In the same period, he averages only 13.7 at 117.1 when he has started his innings in the last five overs.
In the latter scenario, Miller remains an excellent hitter off full tosses and slot deliveries (strike rate 186.8) but struggles against other lengths (strike rate 118.7 without a six). This trait was clear during his 14-ball 31 against Rajasthan where he could accelerate only in the penultimate over from Kuldeep Sen. Five out of those six deliveries were full tosses or in the slot.
Miller is restricted to the same finisher’s role in the Gujarat Titans. With Pandya taking the number four slot, the southpaw has begun batting in the second half of the innings most of the times. Against Rajasthan, Abhinav Manohar was promoted over him at number five when Gujarat lost their third wicket in the seventh over.
Pandya’s absence from the line-up tonight compelled Gujarat to bat Miller at five and more importantly, in the powerplay when they were 16 for three in the fourth over. Survival being the key, he bided his time, scoring 26 off his first 20 balls. A grasp of the conditions served as the launchpad to sprint after the asking rate. Miller was striking at 219.4 for the rest of the innings without looking in rush.
“Coming in at the powerplay allowed me to shine, when the ball is harder than normal. Got more time too, so that was cool,” said the 32-year old after the match.
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Of course, it wasn’t him all along. Rashid Khan cutting loose in the 18th over opened the floodgates. Miller’s knock, however, accentuated the value of using a player in the correct manner. Chennai have maximized Shivam Dube’s power-hitting. Bangalore have done the same with Harshal Patel and Dinesh Karthik and Kolkata with Umesh Yadav.
Miller has been stereotyped by the glory of his younger days for far too long. This unbeaten 94 is quite different from his 101* in 2013 but no less in quality as one of the best knocks in the IPL history. It is a firm reminder that he is not a slogger but a proper batter who harbors the ambition of playing Test cricket and bat higher up the order in his white-ball career. Hopefully, that message will be well received so that we can continue seeing the Killer Miller in the Beast mode.
