Tilak Varma scored his second T20I century and that too in consecutive matches in the fourth T20I of the series against South Africa in Johannesburg. He scored 120 runs off 47 balls with nine fours and 10 sixes and a strike-rate of 255.2. He was yet again sent by captain Suryakumar Yadav to bat at number three after the fall of Abhishek Sharma’s wicket. Just like the third T20I, Varma thanked Yadav after scoring his century with a flying kiss.
Former India opener, Aakash Chopra, in his latest YouTube video has praised Varma for his century and also hilariously joked that Yadav might be thinking why he let Varma bat at his position at number three.
“Tilak Varma came at No. 3 and Suryakumar Yadav might be thinking why he did that. He (Tilak) knocked on his door and said – ‘Surya bhau, make me bat at No. 3’, and he has scored two back-to-back centuries at No. 3,” he said.
Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma both scored a century in the fourth T20I against South Africa
Sanju Samson also smashed his third T20I century in the last five innings. He scored 109 runs off 56 balls with six fours and nine sixes. Chopra lauded both Samson and Varma for putting on the show with the bat in Johannesburg.
Tilak Varma shared an amusing anecdote from the previous year when he was dismissed on the first ball during a game at the same venue, highlighting the contrast with his current performance. He emphasized the importance of his recent innings, not just for his personal stats but for the team’s success and the series outcome as India beat South Africa 3-1.
Regarding his strategy for the day’s game, Tilak mentioned that he focused on maintaining his stance and sticking to the basic techniques that worked for him in the previous game. He talked about remaining calm, which contributed to his performance. He expressed an overwhelming joy and disbelief at achieving two centuries in South Africa, a challenging environment for batting, indicating how unexpected this was for him.
