Auckland, March 22 (IANS) Ahead of their semi-final clash against co-hosts New Zealand, South Africa's middle order batsman David Miller on Sunday said that they are just eight days away from clinching their maiden World Cup crown.
The Proteas are scheduled to play the co-hosts on Tuesday.
South Africa are high on confidence after winning their first ever knock-out match in their cricket World Cup history, beating Sri Lanka by nine wickets in a quarter-final on Wednesday.
"In eight days we could be world champions," Miller was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
South Africa have never entered the title round of a World Cup.
They have been semi-finalists before, but only in tournaments without a preceding quarter-final round. They have already made history with their first ever win in a knockout match.
Playing his first World Cup, the hard-hitting batsman and a terrific fielder said, playing the semi-finals in such a big tournament is a dream come true for him.
"It means everything to me. It's the first World Cup for me and it's a dream come true. To play a semi-final is going to be out of this world. It's actually a privilege to be in that position," he said to the cricket-specific website.
The 25-year-old added that despite a lot of highs and lows, the side has worked hard and performed and that is why they are in the semi-finals.
"The guys have worked really hard in their careers with all their highs and lows and it comes down to a moment like this. A lot of people dream for a moment like this. We have the opportunity to actually be there," the left-handed batsman said.
In previous tournaments, the pressure caused by pre-competitions expectations, Miller described, has been too much for South Africa. This time, they are finding a way to thrive on it.
"This team has a lot of fresh guys in the side - young guys who haven't been to World Cups before, so we don't have a lot of baggage behind us," Miller said.
Miller sounded wary of New Zealand, who have been in imperious form in this tournament.
"Kiwis are really good with nipping the ball. I don't think they give the opposition much in the first 10 overs. So, it's about absorbing as much as we can and limiting the damage in the first 10 overs," Miller said.
He also said he was practicing targeting the short and straight boundaries.
"Hopefully I can mishit a few straight sixes," he humoured.
"It's all coming down to the crunch moment now so soon there will be a lot more pressure put on this game. It's just another game, as they say, which is obviously cliched but it's about pulling in your emotions and doing the job,” Miller concluded.
Pulwama attack to Antilia case: IG Anil Shukla, who spent a long time in NIA, was transferred to Andaman Nicobar
IG Anil Shukla, who returned to Delhi Police on deputation from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has been transferred to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Anil Shukla was looking into the
Fans were hooting Virat Kohli, then the Indian cricketer did something for Smith; which changed the attitude of the audience.
Virat Kohli, who was criticized for clashing with Sam Constas on the field, showed amazing sportsmanship for Steve Smith, after which people became fans of the Indian cricketer. On the second day of
Kisan Diwas: 'The thinking of Chaudhary Charan Singh and the sweat of the farmers will be important in a developed India', said Dhankhar on Kisan Diwas
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar paid floral tribute to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh at Kisan Ghat on Monday. Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary was also present with him during this time.
PM Modi: Trinidad and Tobago's parliament reverberated with thunderous applause. PM Modi had to stop his address 23 times
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint session of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago on Friday. During his speech, the entire Parliament reverberated with applause. The MPs applauded
Meeting: Finance Minister's meeting with the officials of public sector banks on June 20, there will be talk on NPA and loan increase
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a meeting with the officials of public sector banks on June 20. In this, she will review the performance of banks and the progress of all the schemes
Delhi High Court Bomb Threat: An email with a bomb threat was received in Delhi High Court, causing panic; the premises were evacuated.
The Delhi High Court received a bomb threat via email on Friday. As soon as the email was received, there was a stir in the court premises. As a precaution, the High Court premises have been
Pakistan: UN also accepted the increasing cases of forced conversion and marriage in Pakistan, appealed for action
The United Nations on Monday expressed concern over the increase in the number of abductions, forced marriages, and conversions of minor women from various religious minorities in Pakistan. The UN has
Cryptocurrency: 'High risk' to be mentioned in crypto ads, ASCI sets April 1 deadline
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Wednesday issued strict guidelines for advertisements for crypto products and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Under this, from April 1, the advertiser
Will foreign propaganda be exposed against India under the guise of the farmer movement? Delhi Police will take the help of Google
Delhi Police is soon going to write a letter to Google seeking information about the IP address or location from where the document file containing the 'Toolkit' was created and uploaded to the social
A befitting reply to America: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said – Europe buys more oil from Russia than India
There has been a series of counter-attacks between the US and India for several days to buy oil from Russia at an affordable price. Now in this matter, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has said
