Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj on Thursday said he and his team paid no attention to the critical decision involving David Miller in the last over of the T20 World Cup final against India.
With South Africa needing 16 from the final over, Miller had no choice but to go for a six off the first ball. And that’s when the contentious moment occurred.
Miller was caught on the long off boundary by Suryakumar Yadav after the player first gathered as he was heading over the boundary, threw it back in, stepped over the cushion and back into the field to regather the ball.
While the third umpire focussed on whether or not Yadav had stood on the rope while still touching the ball, it was also clear that the boundary had been moved from its original position by the discolouration of the grass. It meant that Yadav was actually standing where the boundary should have been. But that wasn’t taken into account, and Miller had to go as it signalled the end of South Africa’s challenge.
Talking about the moment for the first time since the match, Keshav Maharaj told IOL Sport that the Proteas would not be obsessing over the incident that could have turned the T20 World Cup final against India.
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‘We can’t undo what’s transpired’
Talking about the moment for the first time since the match, Maharaj told IOL Sport: “To be honest, we’re just disappointed about the loss and we were literally on a flight out of Barbados due to the weather — so we never really touched base. But that stuff, we can’t undo whatever’s transpired. We just focus on our tasks. Whatever decision was made or not made, it’s not going to change the outcome.”
“It’s not good to dwell on the negatives. There’s a time to address certain moments, we will at some stage. We just have to let it sink in, and move forward.”
Overall, the 34-year-old Maharaj said that making it to the final of a men’s Cricket World Cup was a significant milestone achievement.
“In a World Cup event where there is high pressure against you, it did show [our progression] to reach a final for the first time. It was hard to swallow at first, but as someone who sees the glass as half full I had my moments to weep about it. I’m very optimistic about the future. I think there’s a lot of positives that transpired in the World Cup. To see the growth in the team in such a short space of time it propels you and fuels you to get it right when the next opportunity comes about. So there’s a lot of optimism among the pain and hurt.”
Personally, Maharaj has every intention of playing for the Proteas for the foreseeable future.
“Let’s hope CSA still want me here. I’m just really excited to be part of this team, hopefully that continues for a long time. Having been to a couple World Cups, I’ve seen the highs and lows. Being in a semi and a final, it spurs me to want to win multiple trophies in the next couple years for this unit.”