{
    "id": "8400",
    "author": "13",
    "cnmid": "0",
    "title": "South Africa could become World Champions: Miller",
    "lang": "en",
    "series": "1",
    "cup_year": "2015",
    "article_type": "General",
    "excerpt": "Ahead of their semi-final clash against co-hosts New Zealand, South Africa's middle order batsman David Miller",
    "subtype": "",
    "editor1": "<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">Auckland, March 22 (IANS) Ahead of their semi-final clash against co-hosts New Zealand, South Africa&#39;s middle order batsman David Miller on Sunday said that they are just eight days away from clinching their maiden World Cup crown.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">The Proteas are scheduled to play the co-hosts on Tuesday.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">&quot;In eight days we could be world champions,&quot; Miller was quoted as saying by a known sports website.South Africa have never entered the title round of a World Cup.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">&quot;It means everything to me. It&#39;s the first World Cup for me and it&#39;s a dream come true. To play a semi-final is going to be out of this world. It&#39;s actually a privilege to be in that position,&quot; he said to the cricket-specific website.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">&quot;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,&quot; the left-handed batsman said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">&quot;This team has a lot of fresh guys in the side - young guys who haven&#39;t been to World Cups before, so we don&#39;t have a lot of baggage behind us,&quot; Miller said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">Miller sounded wary of New Zealand, who have been in imperious form in this tournament.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">&quot;Kiwis are really good with nipping the ball. I don&#39;t think they give the opposition much in the first 10 overs. So, it&#39;s about absorbing as much as we can and limiting the damage in the first 10 overs,&quot; Miller said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">He also said he was practicing targeting the short and straight boundaries.&nbsp;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">&quot;Hopefully I can mishit a few straight sixes,&quot; he humoured.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span style=\"font-family:tahoma,geneva,sans-serif;\">&quot;It&#39;s all coming down to the crunch moment now so soon there will be a lot more pressure put on this game. It&#39;s just another game, as they say, which is obviously cliched but it&#39;s about pulling in your emotions and doing the job,&rdquo; Miller concluded.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n",
    "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2015\/03\/david-miller2.jpg",
    "alt_img": "David Miller",
    "alt_title": "David Miller",
    "image1": "",
    "video": "",
    "seo_title": "South Africa could become World Champions: Miller",
    "seo_desc": "Ahead of their semi-final clash against co-hosts New Zealand, South Africa's",
    "seo_keywords": "David Miller, Cricket South Africa, Porteas",
    "tag": "",
    "tagging": "",
    "status": "1",
    "img_rpt": "0",
    "google": "0",
    "standout": "0",
    "edapps": "0",
    "pulse": "0",
    "no_index": "0",
    "feed": "0",
    "fixture": "0",
    "slug": "south-africa-could-become-world-champions-miller",
    "user_id": "0",
    "read_count": "0",
    "ians_date": "0000-00-00",
    "ians_time": "00:00:00",
    "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00",
    "trash": "0",
    "view_count": "1284",
    "page_break": "0",
    "instant_articles": "0",
    "auto_link": "0",
    "created": "2015-03-22 14:19:00",
    "updated": "2015-03-22 14:19:00",
    "img_from": "",
    "img_source": "",
    "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00",
    "news_keywords": null,
    "livescore_text": null,
    "livescore_link": null,
    "btn_text": null,
    "resend_feed": "0",
    "google_feed": "0",
    "read_more": "0",
    "posted_by": "1",
    "jio_date": "2015-03-22 14:19:00",
    "scheduled": "0",
    "news_now": "1",
    "breaking_news": "0",
    "google_date": "2015-03-22 14:19:00",
    "featured": "0",
    "pred_match_id": null,
    "article_content_type": null,
    "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/south-africa-could-become-world-champions-miller-8400"
}