During the second ODI series of the tour in South Africa, David Miller paid tribute to his mother, Jenny Miller, by scoring a career-best 142 runs against Australia on Pink Day at the Wanderers. Miller, the Proteas' left-handed batsman, wore his mother's name, who has survived cancer, on his jersey at the Wanderers.
The powerful left-hander, along with captain Temba Bavuma, built a partnership of 156 runs for the fourth position. Bavuma also reached his sixth ODI century, which helped the Proteas accumulate a significant number of runs. Australia won the toss and chose to bat first, which proved justified when Aiden Markram's return to the Proteas squad was short-lived.
Josh Hazlewood dismissed Markram on the very first ball, leaving South Africa at 0/1. Following this, Bavuma came onto the field, and the momentum of the game resumed almost instantly. He received early support from क्विंटन de Kock, who hit two sixes over the boundary on the off-side against Hazlewood.
However, before the over concluded, Hazlewood retaliated when de Kock edged the ball to the boundary, and the Proteas lost their second wicket, reaching a score of 36/2. The partnership between Bavuma and Matthew Britzsker brought the team back on track. Britzsker, who recently scored a century in the first ODI in Durban, looked dangerous, scoring 34 runs off just 28 balls (6 fours).
But just as he was about to increase the tempo, the stylish right-handed batsman allowed Jack Edwards his first international wicket when he edged the ball to Alex Carey. The Proteas found themselves in a vulnerable position at 93/3, with 34 overs remaining. However, Miller's arrival alongside the captain changed the course of the home team's innings.
This pair prevented Australia from making a breakthrough within 22 overs, playing together in the middle of the innings with complete control. They scored fifty runs off just 61 balls before accelerating as the partnership deepened—exceeding three hundreds and then pushing the total score above 200 with minimal alarm.
Fueled by each other's energy, they put pressure on the Australian bowlers from the start. Bavuma reached his century first, scoring his sixth ODI hundred (second against Australia) off 112 balls in the 36th over. It was a calm innings from the captain, built on patience during the difficult early period and control after establishing a partnership with Miller.
When Bavuma was eventually dismissed by Edwards, Miller had already started to accelerate. Undeterred by the loss of the captain, Miller continued to play, reaching three hundreds to continue his excellent run against the Australians. Marco Jansen hit a couple of sixes but could not replicate his exploits in Kingsmead, as Edwards continued to finish off, taking a couple more wickets to complete his first five-wicket haul in an ODI.
Nevertheless, the day belonged to Miller, who demonstrated to his younger teammates that he still had plenty of strength and strongly desired to be in the squad for next year's World Cup. The final score of the second ODI at the Wanderers was: Proteas: 365/9 (Miller 142, Bavuma 103, Edwards 5/67). Australia needed 366 runs to win and level the series.