One of the key architects of MI’s convincing win against GT was the return to form of Tilak Varma. Tilak Varma dazzled under the Ahmedabad skies and produced a knock for the ages to stun the Ahmedabad crowd and thrash the host team. To put things into perspective, Tilak himself beat GT by one run as Tilak made 101 while GT were done and dusted for 100. It was domination from Tilak towards the back-end of the innings, but it was not totally smooth sailing for him last night.
Tilak Varma was demoted and came in at 5. He was very slow off the blocks and was unbeaten on 19 off 22 balls at one stage, with MI struggling at 103/4 with big stars, Surya, and de Kock back in the hut. Hardik was in and was struggling from the other end. But the time out brought about the beast in Tilak as he tore apart the GT bowlers in the last 6 overs and changed the game there and then.
Tilak Varma’s spectacular ton flattens GT
GT won the toss and decided to bowl first, and the bowlers started well for the hosts. Mohammed Siraj bowled tight lines and lengths while Kagiso Rabada was the chief destroyer, getting rid of Danish Malewar, Quinton de Kock, and also Suryakumar Yadav inside the power play. Naman Dhir was looking good as the left-hander Tilak Varma joined him in the middle phase.
It was a slow start from Tilak, as Naman was going great guns. The left-hander was struggling for timing and was fighting his own demons. Naman fell for an enterprising 45, and the score was 96 in the 13th over. Captain Hardik Pandya came out to bat next, and the score reached 103/4 in 14 overs when the Strategic Time Out was taken. During that interval, Hardik literally screamed at Tilak very hard, and Tilak was quietly listening without any protest.
Post the Time Out, the beast mode of Tilak was activated. Hardik was himself struggling and played a run-a-ball innings. But the last 6 overs were not about MI thrashing GT for 96 runs. Rather, it was Tilak who was smashing them as he scored the bulk of the runs. Hardik made a total of 15 off 16 balls, and Rutherford made 1 off 2 balls. But Tilak was on another level.
He was 19 off 22 balls in the time out, and then switched gears literally. He smashed the GT bowlers as no one who bowled in the death overs was spared. Washington Sundar bowled an over for 13 runs. Ashok Sharma was smashed for 26 in a single over. Rashid Khan went for 15 in an over. Prasidh Krishna went on a leather hunt as well. No one was spared, as Tilak ruled the roost. He oozed class and showed that form is temporary, class is permanent. He was 19 off 22 balls and ended up with 101 off 45 balls. He scored his last 82 runs in just 23 balls. That is some acceleration.
Later on, MI bowlers came to the party with Impact Player Ashwani Kumar picking up 4 wickets and the spinners Mitchell Santner, Allah Ghazanfar picking up 2 wickets each, while Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya chipped in with one each. But this match win was set up by none other than Tilak Varma. Kudos to him for this innings.
Tilak Varma’s Performances before this contest
Before this clash, Tilak Varma was having a tough time in the year 2026. 2026 has been challenging for the southpaw as he had a serious injury and came back just ahead of the World Cup. Tilak in the World Cup was also struggling to get going and was playing rather slowly out there. The Number 3 or 4 role just did not suit him at all. He either used to score runs or get out early, not getting runs.
As soon as he was demoted down the order to 6 or 7, the impactful knocks started to come from Tilak. In the World Cup, he batted down the order and scored an unbeaten 44 off 16 balls against Zimbabwe, a crucial 27 off 15 balls against the West Indies, and an invaluable 21 off 7 balls against England, which was a crucial contribution in a close, high-scoring game. In the final, he was unbeaten on 8 off 6 balls.
He came into the IPL 2026 as a World Cup winner. In the first game against KKR that MI won, he made 20 off 14 balls. Then it was a dip in his performances as he was dismissed for a silver duck against DC batting high up the order. He scored 14 off 10 balls in a 151 chase in 11 overs against RR in Guwahati. He was another flop against RCB as he made 1 off 3 balls, getting dismissed by Suyash Sharma. He came down the order against PBKS and hit two boundaries in the first two balls before being run out for 8 off 3 balls.
Here, he batted at Number 5, and started slowly making 19 off 22 balls at one stage, but exploded in the last 6 overs, where he made 82 off 23 balls in the team’s 96 runs in 36 balls, as it helped MI post an above-par score on the surface. Tilak has the talent; all he needs is to find some consistency. Add to that, he needs to have role clarity, which is important nowadays. The roles should be clearly defined to him, and accordingly, he can play them. You don’t want him to bat with a cluttered mind. Let him play freely.
What Lies Ahead
MI will be boosted with this win; they have two wins in 6 games now. They next face their arch-rivals CSK, who are grappling with injuries and placed in 8th place below MI on NRR. Tonight’s game is a mid-table clash as SRH, in 4th place, hosts DC in Hyderabad in a critical fixture. Let’s see how this fixture pans out for both teams with two important points up for grabs.
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