Tilak Varma returned to form with an unbeaten 101 off just 45 balls against Gujarat Titans on Monday in the 30th match of the Indian Premier League. His majestic knock paved the way for the Mumbai Indians to post 199 runs in their 20 overs on a slow pitch and that also helped them win the game by 99 runs in the end. The win also ended the four-match losing streak for the five-time champions.
After the match, a video went viral where Hardik Pandya could be seen motivating Tilak Varma during the time-out that was taken at the end of 14 overs. Soon after the time-out, the latter went berserk and never stopped, smashing a stunning 82 off the last 23 balls he faced. The turnaround, most felt, was due to Pandya’s motivational talks.ย
When asked about the same, Tilak Varma hilariously stated that he asked the captain to calm down during the time-out. “As everyone knows, Hardik bhai is very energetic. He was charged up and kept saying, โYou can do it, you will do it,โ to boost me. I just asked him to calm down because I needed to stay focused, and I assured him that I would take care of the rest,” Tilak said while speaking on JioHotstar.
Aim was to spend time in the middle, says Tilak
Interestingly, in the lead up to the game, Tilak had scored only 40-odd runs in five matches while he was also struggling in the first half of his innings, scoring only 20 runs off 22 deliveries at one stage. This is when things changed after the time out as the southpaw ended up smashing eight fours and seven sixes to finish with a strike rate of 224.44.
Opening up about his knock, Tilak said, “It was very important for the team and for me. Over the last four or five games, the one thing constantly running through my head was that I hadnโt spent much time in the middle and hadnโt faced many balls, so my aim was to spend some time at the wicket and then adapt according to the teamโs situation.”
“I am grateful that it worked out that way. However, we shouldnโt look too far ahead and should take one match at a time. Every game is almost like a knockout for us. We know what we are capable of, having several World Cup winners in the side, experienced players, and the skills we possess. If we execute well, we can be unstoppable. So, it is important to keep our heads down and continue working hard,” he added.
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