KEVIN MCCALLUM: But for blasted sport, Miller would have been on winning side like Alisson

Sport. Damn sport. On Wednesday, damn sport was defined by Alisson Becker to David Miller. On Wednesday, both starred for teams that had been outplayed. Just one of them was on the winning side.

That it wasn’t Miller feels impossibly unfair. Another muscular innings in which he played like an angry beast to the passive caution of his captain at the top of the order. Temba Bavuma was the only one of the top six to score at less than a run a ball. SA were always behind the asking rate in chasing 363. 

“Bavuma (56) and Rassie van der Dussen (69) scored half centuries at the top, but they weren’t quick enough to put pressure back on New Zealand. Miller came out to bat at No 6 with SA needing 196 from 21.2 overs but kept losing partners,” Wisden reported.

“By over 39.3, SA had collapsed to 218/8 with the game looking out of their reach. Miller knocked it around with Kagiso Rabada hitting the occasional boundary but it wasn’t enough to catch up with the required rate. In the end, it became a race against time for Miller to reach his hundred.

“After the 47th over, Miller was batting on 52 off 49, needing another 48 to reach his hundred, which is exactly what he managed to score as SA ended on 312/9, eventually losing by 50 runs.”

It would be harsh to blame Bavuma for the loss. The bowling was wayward, Marco Jansen showing some signs of the bowling yips, Lungi Ngidi, his three wickets aside, looks like he is missing a spark and Keshev Mahara came up against the imperious Rachin Ravindra. This was a game, on a road of a track, that needed some innovation in attack instead of a maintenance-like defence.

ESPNcricinfo noted that Kane Williamson shared a smile and then a hug after the match, and then Miller, “the disappointment on his face writ large ... expressed his preference for the final that his side will yet again miss out on. ‘I’ll be honest with you. I think I’ll be supporting New Zealand,’ he said.”

That may be because of the bad taste India has wrought upon this Champions Trophy with their refusal to play in Pakistan and remain in Dubai. It’s caused New Zealand and SA to have to travel to Dubai and back as they waited upon the ICC’s Master’s Voice to see where they would play.

“It's only an hour-and-40-minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that [was not ideal],” said Miller. “It’s early morning, it’s after a game, and we had to fly. Then we got to Dubai at 4pm. And at 7.30 in the morning we had to come back. It doesn’t make it nice. It’s not like we flew five hours, and we had enough time to recover and recuperate.

“But it was not an ideal situation still ... Unfortunately, in the middle, we lost a couple of wickets too many. At the end of the day, it’s a team effort. Everyone’s trying out there to do their best. It would have been nice to have a rematch against India, but life is not fair sometimes. Anyone has to work really hard to achieve trophies.”

Becker was aware of the work that he needed to do as PSG outplayed Liverpool in Paris in the semifinal on Wednesday night. For 86 minutes, Liverpool were dominated by Luis Enrique’s fine side. Alisson had to make nine saves, which was a record not only for a Liverpool goalkeeper in the Champions League but the most he has done in his Liverpool career.

He was also involved in the goal, a long ball picked up by Darwin Núñez, who looks to have taken Arne Slot’s rebuke at his work rate to heart, a weighted to Harvey Elliott to score. It was Liverpool’s only shot on target all night.

“Liverpool came out ready to grind and graft. Alisson seemed to feel it as the game went on, a footballer in one of those rare moments of invincibility. This was his night, and a huge step towards the season’s end,” wrote Barney Ronay in the Guardian.

Alisson said: “It was probably the performance of my life.”

Miller said: “I’m obviously very happy personally to do well. But I would have rather done badly and won the game.”

Sport. Damn sport.