AB de Villiers has suggested that David Miller could continue to open the batting in the rest of the one-day series after it worked so well in the third ODI against India on Sunday.

Miller walking out to open the batting with Quinton de Kock raised a few eyebrows, especially since the big-hitter has been struggling for runs of late.

However, the gamble paid off well enough as Miller and De Kock shared a 72-run opening partnership which gave South Africa the perfect start. The move meant Hashim Amla came in at three, Faf fu Plessis at four and De Villiers at five.

‘I thought it worked really well,’ De Villiers said of the decision to let Miller open the batting. ‘They have got 30 overs of spin in a game and I’d like to think Hashim, myself and Faf are the best players of spin in the team. So for us to bat at N0 3, 4 and 5 gives India a feeling of they’ve got a lot of work to do to get through our batting line-up which worked to the “t”.

‘David and Quinton played exceptionally well. There’s not a lot of turn with the new ball so both left handers were very comfortable against the spin on what was a pretty slowish wicket and not easy for us to bat on, but they made it look easy.

‘David is a very positive players and I like him up the order with the hard ball in India. I was really happy with the start, they laid the foundation well. Hashim didn’t come off and neither did I, but Faf came off. It’s always one of the three that comes off in the middle overs and it gives freedom for Farhaan and JP to enjoy themselves at the end, which they did.’

Picture: BCCI