David Miller hails Afghanistan 'as one of the joys of World Cup'

ICC World Cup 2023 South Africas David Miller hailed Afghanistan as one of the joys of the World Cup on Thursday but admitted thoughts were already turning towards their semifinal clash with Australia South Africa have qualified for the last four with six wins and two losses in eight games while Afghanistan their opponents in Ahmedabad on Friday still harbour outside hopes of squeezing into the semifinals Theyve been really really good to watch said Miller of Afghanistan who have beaten defending champions England as well as former winners Pakistan and Sri Lanka They were in touching distance of another major scalp on Tuesday when they had fivetime champions Australia on the ropes before Glenn Maxwell launched his spectacular oneman rescue missionTheyre a team thats certainly growing in confidence Theyve shown that they can compete I mean this World Cup theyve done really really well beaten some big teams He added Its been good to watch the Afghanistan group going the way that they have with the spinners that theyve got the batters up front They have a chance to make the semifinals Thats the joy of the World Cup You see different teams doing well people that dont necessarily rate a certain team exceeding in a certain phase of the World CupAlso ReadBruised but not batteredMiller hailed Maxwells undefeated 201run masterclass achieved despite cramps and back spasms which forced him to attempt only boundaries as he pulled his team back from the brink of 917 in Mumbai on Tuesday Seeing a knock like that was really special said Miller of Maxwell who he will face again in the semifinals next week Hes an XFactor a match winner It was inspiring to see no foot movement there and still hitting sixes and fours From a game where they were dead and buried Miller admitted players were excited at the prospect of a World Cup semifinal against Australia When they met in the group stage at Lucknow four weeks ago Maxwell was out for three and South Africa romped to a 134run victory We played them before in the World Cup so kind of a dress rehearsal there and weve played them quite a bit in the past said Miller of the fivematch home series on the eve of the World Cup that South Africa won 32 So we know what to expect Theyre always a competitive team Theyve got some incredible players and match winners amongst their teamWith inputs from agencies