'When I am in and set, I know I can win the game'

The IPL. May 6, 2013. Royal Challengers Bangalore have set Kings XI Punjab 191 to win in Mohali. At the halfway mark Kings XI are struggling at 68 for 4. An hour later they have marched to a six-wicket victory with two overs to spare.

Ram Slam T20 Challenger. January 10, 2014. Knights have posted 176 for 4, batting first. With ten overs to go Dolphins need 87 with seven wickets in hand. They win by four wickets, with seven deliveries remaining.

South Africa v Australia, March 4, 2016 South Africa have been set 158. At 95 for 6 with seven overs to go, and their last two specialist batsmen at the crease, South Africa are staring at the impossible. They end up winning with four balls and three wickets to spare.

The player who crafted those unlikely chases was David Miller, Man of the Match in all three thrillers. He is one of the best finishers going around in T20 cricket, if not the best.

Miller says the IPL innings changed his mindset, his career, his batting. "We needed like 13 or 14 runs an over from about nine overs. It was like 50 balls and we needed 130 [133 off 66], that type of thing," he says, during the open media session last week in Mumbai. "It was the knock that changed my thinking. It made me realise that you can actually win from some weird situations."

His 101 in that game, the only century of his T20 career so far, was struck off just 38 balls. He walked in with Kings XI needing 140 runs from 12.2 overs. His first four came off his eighth ball, his first six three balls later. With 96 needed from the final seven overs, Miller decided to get going. Forty-three runs came off the next two overs, with Miller first dominating Vinay Kumar and then ransacking 26 off experienced left-arm fast bowler RP Singh, bringing the target down to 53 from 30. Miller finished the game with a six that also took him to his century. Virat Kohli, the Bangalore captain, called it one of the best innings in IPL history.

In the Durban T20I, earlier this month, Miller walked in in the tenth over. He was part of two run-outs, the first one involving his captain, Faf du Plessis. With five overs remaining Miller was on a 16-ball 17. He proceeded to hit two sixes in the following over, off fast bowler and newcomer Andrew Tye, to get the asking rate down to six per over. Chris Morris, the last recognised batsman, was out shortly after, but Australia failed to put the brakes on Miller, let alone get him out.

Miller's strength is his calm, methodical approach to breaking an opponent down. His strike rate in the last five overs in IPL games is 202.83. In that phase he has scored 550 runs off 271 balls, and has hit 29 fours and 45 sixes. Only his countryman and fellow manic finisher AB de Villiers has a better strike rate (213) among batsmen who have played at least 200 balls in the last five overs in the IPL. Miller's six rate - one every six balls - is the best in the league.

Overall in T20 cricket Miller is a superb finisher. His strike rate of 181.01 in the last five overs is the second highest among batsmen who have faced at least 1000 balls, behind only Kieron Pollard's 190.13. Miller averages a staggering 142 in successful chases in the IPL.

"I didn't actually know that, to be honest," he says. Asked to talk about how he approaches finishing games, Miller jokes about whether we have a lot of time to spare.

"It is something that I have tried to work on in the last few years," he says. "The biggest thing is belief and confidence. Those are two things that I try and stick to, especially while chasing, knowing that you can win it from any situation. I have seen other players do some extraordinary things and winning a game, where you would never think they could win. If they can do it, why can I not? It is having an attitude like that."

Miller is of average height, extremely fit, though not big and muscular. He plays to his strengths, which he says he has developed in the nets over the years. "Obviously, a lot of practice: working out shots, what works, what doesn't work. It is not really trying different shots. It is about knuckling down on the shots that I enjoy. If it is pitched up, where are my areas - over extra cover, straight, or cow corner? Just really grooving those shots so that when the ball does pitch there, I know I can hit it for a six. That preparation gives me the confidence in the game. That belief that I actually can do it, because I know I can. I have done it. I have practised hours."

Keeping the mind free of distraction is important. "There is always a lot of things, a lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of balls, runs, changing of field, there's a lot of things going through your mind. So just to try and have a clear mind, concentrate on your breathing."

To blank out the noise, Miller says it is better to keep things simple. "Minds are incredible. They pretty much do what you think of or what you believe in. Out there in the middle, I try and simplify it. Try and make my mind think of one or two things, not six or seven things. I don't quite know how it works, how it happens. It doesn't work every game. I've failed quite a lot of times, but when I am in, I am set, I know I can win the game, I try and make sure that I finish it."

Miller lifts the curtain a little to let us see how he manages to simplify things. He talks about breaking targets down. Another routine is to breathe in slowly before picking up the pace. He talks about the IPL match against Royal Challengers. "Obviously you want to win it, end of the day, but you have got to give yourself a chance to at least get in. I think I was like 20 runs off 18 balls. The next two and a half overs went for 50-60 runs. For me personally - I don't know how other guys like to do it - I like to give myself just a little bit of time. I know what the conditions are doing, and then I can explode.

"Like I said, it doesn't happen all the time, but when moments like that come around, it is a really nice feeling. You get a lot of satisfaction from it because you have practised really hard and there are a lot of things that go into it."

Playing for South Africa, Miller has comparisons with de Villiers' legendary batting skills to contend with. At Kings XI, where he has been appointed captain this season, there is the maverick genius of Glenn Maxwell. Miller knows that come the crunch, the shots he plays are his own. "In nets and practice, I do work on the lap and stuff, but when I am under pressure, I am not going to be going to that," he says. "I am going to do what I know the best. I need to make sure I am as confident as I can be, so when I am under pressure, when the most pressure is, it is what you do best. So I just stick to try and hit straight."

Though he helps teams conquer unimaginable targets, Miller has a fear of heights. At least he did.

After South Africa's limited-overs tour of India last year, Miller flew to Dubai to spend some time with a cousin. One day he decided he would attempt skydiving. "I'm very, very scared of heights, but I ended up doing it. I don't know. I just jumped off. I prayed. I was happy with life. I accepted everything and I ended up coming alive, and really loved it. I thought I was going to die, but I'm still here," he says, smiling.

If there was one thing Miller learned from skydiving, it was to follow his gut. "It has just made me realise that you can overcome fears in life. Everyone has fears. Big thing is fear of failure in cricket and also in life. For me it is just about just letting everything be. If you tick all the boxes, and you practise really well and give everything you can, to just let go in the game and trust your instincts is probably what I have learnt."