Mark Boucher tears apart David Miller for disastrous show against spin in 1st T20I vs India

Legendary South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher lashed out at his countryman David Miller for looking all at sea against the Indian spinners during the first T20I between South Africa and India at Kingsmead, Durban.

Boucher also lauded the Indian spinners, who were magnificent and accounted for six South African wickets between them. India's spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi rattled South Africa's middle order with their guile and skills.

Chakravarthy picked up 3-25 while Bishnoi finished with 3-28 in the match. Both of them were so dominant that the left-arm spinner Axar Patel was required to bowl just one over as India eased its way to an emphatic victory.

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Mark Boucher slams David Miller

While speaking to Jio Cinema, Mark Boucher spoke about the time when David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen were still at the crease and South Africa were in with a chance. Mark Boucher noted that Miller looked clueless against India's spinners and didn't know what was coming.

The former South Africa cricketer also hailed Indian spinners for exploiting the help from the wicket. He also claimed that South African bowlers could not exploit what Indian bowlers did and it allowed the Indian batters to reach a 200-plus total.

"David Miller wasn't picking a thing at all. I mean, there's one over there where I think he missed four out of the six deliveries he faced. So yeah, he bowled really well tonight, and it just goes to show two quality spinners. There was something there for the bowlers on that wicket. Something that South African bowlers could not exploit," Mark Boucher explained.

David Miller was dismissed for 18 off 21 balls. He struck 1 four and 1 six during his knock. Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi were brilliant on the day and kept the pressure on South African batters throughout the middle overs. Chakravarthy picked up the big wickets of Rickelton, Klaasen, and Miller while Bishnoi helped clean up the lower order.

Mark Boucher lauds Ravi Bishnoi

Speaking about the variations of Ravi Bishnoi, Mark Boucher praised him for mixing his variations perfectly which troubled South African batters. Bishnoi's variations kept up the pressure on the batters and Chakravarthy was rewarded with the wickets.

"I was watching a couple of his (Ravi Bishnoi) balls come out a little bit different and I think what he did really well tonight, especially in the dark, is he changed the seam up. Sometimes you look at the ball, especially as a wicket-keeper as well. You look at the ball and see if you can see it spinning different ways. But he muddled his seam up very nicely," Boucher said.

Ravi Bishnoi T20I numbers

Ravi Bishnoi has an excellent T20I record. The 24-year-old legspinner has picked up 54 wickets in 34 matches at an average of 17.92 and an economy rate of 7.29. He has also been the No. 1 bowler in ICC T20I rankings once.

Meanwhile, India defeated South Africa by 61 runs to lead the four-match T2oI series 1-0. Sanju Samson scored a belligerent hundred for India while the bowlers followed it up with excellent work in the second innings.

With three more T20Is remaining, hosts South Africa will be looking to bounce back in the second T20I at Gqeberha. The Proteas will be expected to come prepared in the second match and are likely to pose a tougher challenge to India.