Miller, Duminy star in hard-fought win over Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe were defeated, but in no way outplayed, by South Africa in the ICC World Cup 2015 Group B encounter in Hamilton. For good parts of the game, Zimbabwe went toe to toe with their African neighbours. Eventually, the unbeaten 256-run fifth wicket stand between David Miller (138) and JP Duminy (115) proved to be the difference and helped South Africa record a 62-run victory. Under overcast conditions at the Seddon Park, Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha threatened to go after South Africa's 339 unhindered by the reputation of their opposition. Masakadza's six off Dale Steyn's first ball of a new spell, being the case in point. Steyn's acknowledgement was an indication of the closeness of the contest. Eventually, Imran Tahir's guile and the gulf in class between the team's remaining players and their counterparts was too wide, even for an inspired Zimbabwe side to overcome. Zimbabwe began earnestly. Chibhabha picked Morne Morkel off for three boundaries in his first over to signal the team's intentions. He continued to play his shots even after Vernon Philander removed opening partner Sikandar Raza (5) cheaply. In-form batsman, Mazakadza then joined Chibhabha and straight away took a liking to the South African quicks. The duo were particularly severe on ace fast-bowler Dale Steyn, who had an uncharacteristically off-day. Incidentally, the extra pace of South Africa's pacers negated the sluggishness of the track. Only when slower bowlers Farhaan Behardien and Imran Tahir were introduced, did the scoring rate reduce. Tahir, bowling his bag of variations, kept the duo in check. Eventually, Tahir ended the 105-run stand by dismissing Chibhabha with a flighted delivery. Masakadza, along with Brendon Taylor kept the chase on, hitting the pacers at will, before a leading edge cut his innings short. Masakadza's dismissal for 80 triggered a mini-collapse with Zimbabwe soon falling from 191 for two in the 33rd over to 245 for eight in the 44th. Solomon Mire entertained the crowd with a flurry of boundaries at the end but the target proved to be a little beyond their reach. While Steyn and Morkel struggled, Tahir emerged as the pick of South Africa's bowling, ending with figures of three for 36. Ideally, South Africa shouldn't have been allowed to reach 340 after Elton Chigumbura won the toss and inserted the opposition in on a pitch that was described as 'slow' and 'two-paced' by both the captains. Zimbabwe's new ball bowlers, Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara quickly dismissed Quinton de Kock (7) and Hashim Amla (11) to reduce South Africa to 21/2 after 9 overs. The slow start prompted AB de Villiers (25) and Faf du Plessis (24) to counter the medium pacers by repeatedly using their feet, a brand of high risk cricket that costed their wickets to leave South Africa reeling at 83 for four. It was then that Duminy got together with Miller. A partnership that began circumspectly ended in manic hitting with each batsman trying to outdo the other. For most parts, Duminy dropped anchor to allow his more flamboyant batting partner, the license to go after the bowling. Miller hit nine sixes en-route his 81-ball century, two of which disappeared over the stands. The duo bludgeoned 96 in the final five overs, as Zimbabwe's bowlers erred in their lengths, something that proved to be extremely decisive in the final scheme of things.