Miller hits fastest ton in T20Is, SA sweep series
POTCHEFSTROOM: David Miller’s world-record breaking innings of 101 off 36 balls gave South Africa a clean sweep over Bangladesh in all three formats with an 83-run win in the final Twenty20 on Sunday.
Miller hammered the fastest century in T20Is --- he reached 100 off 35 balls to smash the record --- to propel South Africa to 224-4 batting first.
Bangladesh was 141 all out in 18.3 overs, another heavy defeat on a difficult five-week tour for the visiting team.
While South Africa gained valuable preparation under new coach Ottis Gibson ahead of tours by India and Australia, Bangladesh failed to live up to the promise they showed recently in home series.
South Africa won the Test series 2-0, winning those matches by 333 runs and then an innings and 254 runs. It won the ODIs 3-0, with winning margins of 10 wickets, 104 runs and 200 runs.
Bangladesh came closest to something to celebrate when they went down by 20 runs in the first T20I.
In the final game of the tour, Miller hit five sixes in a row in the 19th over, and nine sixes and seven fours in all in his recordbreaking innings. He beat the record of fellow South African Richard Levi, who scored a century off 45 balls against New Zealand in 2012.
“Obviously a really special feeling.” Miller said. “Don’t quite know what went on there but I was just trying to watch the ball and back myself.”
Miller’s five sixes off the first five balls of the 19th over from Mohammad Saifuddin helped him motor from 57 to 88 in the space of an over. He just missed out on becoming only the third batsman ever to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket when he could only drive the final ball from Saifuddin through the covers for one.
Bangladesh were left to seriously rue that they dropped Miller when he was yet to score --although it was a tough chance that wicketkeeper Mustafizur Rahim put down after a fulllength dive. South Africa’s total was the joint 13th highest in T20 internationals with Miller’s century and opener Hashim Amla hitting 85 off 51 balls.
Brief scores: South Africa 224 for 4 in 20 overs (H Amla 85, D Miller 101*; Shakib 2-22) bt Bangladesh 141 all out in 18.3 overs(S Sarkar 44; JP Duminy 2-23, Phangiso 2-31) by 83 runs.