Tilak Varma’s impressive knock of 72 runs guided India to a thrilling last-over victory over England in the 2nd T20I.
India once again proved that their number 3 batsman has the ability to win matches even in difficult situations. Ever since Virat Kohli retired from T20 cricket, Tilak Varma has taken his place and played the number 3 role brilliantly. In the second T20 match against England, when other players of the team were returning to the pavilion one after another, Tilak Varma turned the match in India’s favour by playing an unbeaten inning of 72 runs in 55 balls. His innings was not only a display of composure and patience but also showed maturity and confidence like Kohli. Tilak Varma displayed his natural style amid the falling wickets, rotating the strike when needed and finally hitting big shots to give India a thrilling two-wicket win. With this win, India took a 2-0 lead in the series.
This match was opposite from a strategic point of view for both the teams. India won the toss and gave England the chance to bat first. Relying on its bowling, India restricted England to 165 runs, in which the spinners played the main role. He took 6 wickets for 118 runs in a total of 14 overs. England, while continuing their natural game, did not give up their aggression despite the continuous fall of wickets and scored a challenging 165 runs after losing 9 wickets. They then relied on fast pace and bouncy bowling, which is considered somewhat of a weakness for India.
However, overuse of this strategy backfired for England. Trying to make every ball a bouncer cost him heavily. Jofra Archer gave away 60 runs in his four overs, in which Tilak Verma turned the match by scoring 19 runs in his last over.
This brilliant inning of Tilak Varma proved that India has got a reliable and capable batsman at number 3 for the future.
