A 22-year-old’s coming-of-age story unfolded at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk as India clinched a thrilling two-wicket victory over England in the 2nd T20I. Tilak Varma, India’s batting hero in Chennai, elevated his stature with a composed, unbeaten 72 off 55 balls, guiding his team to a nail-biting finish.
Speaking after the win, Varma revealed how coach Gautam Gambhir’s confidence in his abilities allowed him to shift gears and play a match-defining knock at Chepauk.
“First of all, the wicket was slightly two-paced, and other wickets kept falling,” said Varma at the post-match press conference. “So, actually, I was talking with Gautam sir yesterday. He told me that ‘whatever happens, according to the situation, you should play; you should be flexible in batting.’”
Tilak came in to bat at No. 3 ahead of captain Suryakumar Yadav as India kept losing wickets from the other end. However, the strategy, as he revealed, was to “take on their best bowlers. Also, as was discussed by the team, left and right was a good option to bat on there. For bowlers also, it will be slightly difficult. They will have to change their lines and lengths in between.”
Tilak then added that with coach Gambhir’s confidence in his batting abilities to shift gears according to the situation, he was able to back himself and go after England’s best bowlers, including Jofra Archer. “Whenever the team needs, if you want 10 runs in an over, you can take the charge,” he said. “Or else, if the low score or 7-8 runs if you need an over, he said to take that one boundary in the over and stand at the non-striker in the end.”
The left-hander from Hyderabad has now remained unbeaten in the last four T20I innings, amassing 318 runs. His last four T20I scores are 107*, 120*, 19*, and 72*.
Speaking about his unbeaten partnership with Ravi Bishnoi for the ninth wicket, Tilak said, “I told Ravi, hold the shape and look to hit in the gap. So, if you see, he has done one flick against the fast bowler and one four which were extraordinary. That gave us a little more, to finish the game a little more easily.”
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