A 55-ball 72* at a strike rate of 130.91 might not seem extraordinary at first glance for Tilak Varma. However, numbers alone don’t tell the full story. Since making his T20I debut in August 2023 Tilak Varma has batted beyond 50 deliveries only twice in his 22-match career, with the game against England in Chennai marking the second such instance. Tilak Varma enjoys a career strike-rate of more than 150, and in the six instances where he has scored 40 or more, Tilak Varma has maintained a strike rate of over 190 on three occasions.
Tilak Varma batting isn’t just about big hits and clever shot-making; Tilak Varma also knows how to adopt a measured approach when the situation demands. This aspect of his game was on full display during his match-winning innings against England at Chepauk, which played a crucial role in helping India secure a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : T20I cricket is back in Chennai after almost 7 years. This is a bigger venue. Square boundaries – 68m and 66m and 75m straight down the ground. Few cracks (on the pitch), there’s a good covering of grass and most of it is pretty dead. Good pitch, I am saying somewhere around 180. We’ve got a pitch here which is a good pitch.
The quick bowlers will look to bowl into the surface. I don’t think there’s going to be extravagant bounce. The spinner will get a little bit of bounce as well. Don’t think there’ll be a huge amount of spin. A very good surface to bat on, might get a little slow because this is a black soil pitch. Not much dew.” reckons Deep Dasgupta and Nick Knight.
Toss : Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bowl with two changes in the playing XI bringing in Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel for Rinku Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy. England skipper Jos Buttler batting first also made two changes bringing in Brydon Carse for Gus Atkinson and handing a debut to Jamie Smith for Jacob Bethell
Jos Buttler , Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse powers England to 165 for 9 in 20 overs
Earlier asked to bat, when England batted, a familiar script had played out. After their defeat in Kolkata, England batsman Harry Brook had revealed smog was a reason for their inability to read Indian spinners. Here at Chennai, with a better air quality, England’s struggles had no signs of stopping. Arshdeep Singh once again gave an early break-through by removing Phil Salt in the first over and thereafter the spinners took over.
Washington first saw the back of Ben Duckett, whose reverse-sweep took the top-edge and the fielder at point taking a simple catch. Next up, Varun Chakravarthy showed smog or not, why Brook would struggle to pick his variations. The 33-year-old slipped in a googly, which Brook didn’t pick, and ended up committing to front-foot even before the ball was released. And before he could realize, the ball had hit the top of off. Varun’s reaction – where he gave a cold stare said it all.

England made a similar start to the one they made in Kolkata three days ago as Phil Salt was once again dismissed in the opening over by Arshdeep Singh after India opted to bowl first. And yet again, it was Jos Buttler who was leading England’s charge as he took on Arshdeep for a couple of fours and a six to finally get his side going.
Even though Washington Sundar, coming in place of the injured Nitish Reddy, managed to get rid of Ben Duckett soon after, Buttler didn’t stop. Harry Brook made a fine start as well, racing to 12 off just 4 but like in Kolkata, he failed to read Varun Chakravarthy’s googly and got castled .

The telling blow came at the halfway mark though when Buttler mistimed a pull against Axar Patel to get caught near the deep. While Liam Livingstone once again didn’t make an impact, England were uplifted by the two new faces who had come in for the game. Jamie Smith, making his T20I debut, looked very comfortable against the spinners unlike most of his mates and took on even Chakravarthy. Racing to 22 off just 11, he played one shot too many though as he mistimed one to get caught near long off.
For the second game in succession, it was again down to their captain Jos Buttler. He tried to single-handedly carry his team towards a competitive total but at 45 he holed out to the fielder at deep mid-wicket off Axar Patel. Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith and Overton all fell trying to go after the spinners as England were seven down for 136 in the 16th over.
Similarly, Brydon Carse made a great impression as he played some lovely strokes to ensure the scoring rate didn’t dip despite the fall of wickets. Carse even slammed Chakravarthy for back-to-back sixes and was the key for England while entering the death overs. However, a lack of communication between him and Jofra Archer led to an unnecessary run out that dented England big time. From thereon, Adil Rashid and Archer did their bit to drag England to 165, a total that once again didn’t look threatening against a menacing Indian lineup.
Carse, playing his maiden T20I, would then provide much needed life to England with 31 before Archer and Rashid played their part as they managed 165/9 a total that looked on par at the break.
Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 72 gives India nervy win and a 2-0 lead in slugfest
The signs were visible when Abhishek Sharma kickstarted the chase with three boundaries off Archer but Mark Wood ensured he didn’t last long by trapping the youngster lbw. If England struggled against spin, pace proved to be India’s undoing, especially the short ball. Sanju Samson fell to a short-pitched delivery from Archer but Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak came up with a counterattack to push England behind again with a flurry of boundaries.
India were cruising in the powerplay despite losing two wickets but against the run of play, the skipper departed after inside-edging one onto his stumps. This is where England came back into the contest as Dhruv Jurel was the next to depart to another short delivery. Hardik Pandya started off with a four but it was now Jamie Overton’s turn to use the short ball to good effect as India lost half their side with just 78 on the board.

It was a night where India’s batsmen struggled to get used to the pitch. Beaten by pace, Abhishek Sharma was trapped in front off Wood; Sanju Samson was undone by Jofra Archer’s extra yard of pace; Suryakumar Yadav and Dhruv Jurel – who came in place of Rinku Singh – were undone by Brydon Chase’s hard lengths that sort of skidded on. Overton’s extra bounce got him Hardik Pandya’s wicket.
At 78/5 in 9.1 overs, despite the batting depth, India’s chase appeared to be going nowhere. As much as a lot has been said about the intent of this batting line-up, a lot of it also comes down to the batting depth. Since the T20 World Cup, it has become a non-negotiable element and despite losing Rinku and Nitish Kumar Reddy for this game because of injuries, India still didn’t find the necessity to bring in Mohammed Shami.
So in came Washington Sundar, who joined Varma. The local boy, like his other free-flowing batsmen, struggled to get any sort of flow. The asking rate mounted before out of nowhere India and Washington got a lifeline with Adil Rashid dropping a regulating take at mid-on off Wood. Washington then would end the over with a six and a couple of boundaries before departing in the next over. When Axar Patel fell in the 15th over, the end card was being prepared to be played.
Local boy Washington then steadied the ship alongside Tilak and after a watchful period, he even went on to pick up some useful boundaries to eat into the target. He stamped his authority with a six and two fours in a Mark Wood over that saw the pacer concede 18 runs. Once again, against the run of play though, India lost a wicket when Carse came back to castle Washington which was immediately followed by Axar mistiming a slog sweep.

But Tilak Varma was in no mood to dislodge. By then he had 47 off 37 deliveries with three boundaries and as many sixes. Unlike his rest of his teammates, he didn’t commit to shots early; instead picked the ones that landed on his slot. In India’s batting resurgence, their ability to manufacture shots have stood out, but this was a night where they had to gauge the intent and it was Tilak Varma who showed that they are capable of doing it as well.
Those two wickets meant Tilak Varma had to shoulder the responsibility to guide India home. Despite making a swashbuckling start to his innings, Tilak Varma showed great composure and adapted to take the game deep.
He hammered Archer for back-to-back sixes to thrill the crowd and bring up his fifty but the game was still on when Arshdeep got caught in the deep with India still needing 20 off 18 with only two wickets in hand. Ravi Bishnoi then came to the home side’s rescue as he eased the pressure on Tilak Varma with a timely boundary before India’s No.3 finished England’s hopes in the final over.
With Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi playing notable cameos and 40 needed off the last five overs, Tilak Varma would score 25, including two momentum inducing successive sixes off Archer. And when Rashid came on for his last over, he would play four dots before taking a single. He would shield the strike even when Bishnoi was on, who scored two crucial boundaries to ease the pressure. Tilak Varma would then add the finishing touches in the last over.
With 6 runs needed off the last over with just two wickets in hand, it was down to Tilak Varma. As it was the case right through the chase on Saturday night. A clip off his legs, which appeared to dissect the fielder at fine-leg and square-leg got him only two runs with Liam Livingstone putting a diving effort to save boundary.
And as Jamie Overton delivered a full-ball outside off, Tilak Varma creamed it through the covers and take off a celebratory run that only ended with a huge leap. Having scored two centuries to announce his arrival in the international scene, this was a knock that showed how much he has matured as a batsman.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Suryakumar Yadav the winning skipper of India said : A little bit of relief with the way the game was going. We felt 160 was good. They bowled really well, good that that the game went down to the wire. We’ve been playing with an extra batter since the last 2-3 series. We want that cushion and also that batter gives us 2-3 overs in the game. The chat around was to play as we played the last game.
We are playing an aggressive brand of cricket, but at the same time, as the situation demanded, boys actually put their hands up and stitched those small partnerships. (Reaction after Axar’s dismissal) I was sitting inside, a little bit superstitious. All these things is part of the game, you learn, you move on. Very happy with the way Tilak batted, good to see someone like him taking responsibility.
(On Bishnoi) He’s been putting in a lot of hard work in the nets, he wants to contribute with the bat as well, it’s a perfect example that he did it today and not to forget Arshdeep Singh as well. Experience has been very good, the boys have taken a lot of pressure off me, so I can go out and express myself.
The atmosphere has been really good, it’s very light in the dressing room. We want to play a certain brand of cricket, it. We know what we want to do. If we are all on the same page, then good things will take place.
Jos Buttler the losing skipper of England said : It was a great game. All credit to Tilak for getting them over the line. We created a lot of chances, really aggressive, it was great to watch everyone in action and pushed them really close. Really pleased with the way we went about with the bat. We lost a few wickets but the aggression was there that we asked for, really took the game on and got to almost nearly a defendable score.
Really happy with the style we played. Lots of positives. Jamie Smith, on debut, playing the way he did was fantastic. Brydon Carse and all the guys there creating a lot of chances, really happy with the performances. We can always improve but we are happy with the style. They are always going to play three spinners, they are going to take some wickets. I’d much prefer if they do take wickets, we take them for some runs as well.
Tilak Varma Player of the Match for his majestic 72* runs said : Wicket was slightly two-paced. I was talking with Gautam sir yesterday, he said that, ‘whatever happens, you should play according to the situation, you should be flexible.’ Left-right will be a good option to bat out there, and it’ll be slightly difficult for the bowlers as they should change their lines and lengths.
(Gameplan against the short ball) We already played in South Africa, it was actually more difficult than this. We prepared but Archer and Wood are really quick. Everyone prepared well, we worked really hard in the nets and that gave us the results. I told him (Bishnoi) to hold the shape and look to hit in the gap. One flick against the fast bowler and one four against Livingstone, it was extraordinary. That made it easier to finish the game.
Indian cricket team batter Tilak Varma scripted history with his match-winning knock during the second T20I encounter against England in Chennai on Saturday. Tilak Varma slammed a brilliant 72 off just 55 deliveries with the help of four fours and five sixes to guide his team to victory.
Thanks to the knock, Tilak Varma became the first player in the world (among full member nations) to score 300+ runs in T20Is without getting dismissed. In the past four innings for India, Tilak scored 107 (from 56 balls) vs. South Africa, 120 from 47 balls against South Africa, 19, and 72 not out vs. England. Earlier, the record belonged to New Zealand’s Mark Chapman who scored 271 runs before getting dismissed in T20I cricket.
Tilak Varma guided India home with a masterful fifty under thrilling circumstances in the second T20I against England in Chennai. In a game that appeared straightforward at the halfway mark following another ordinary batting display from England, India struggled against the visitors’ pace attack and were reduced to 104/6 at one stage in pursuit of 166. However, Tilak Varma showcased his ability to adapt to the situation and kept the hosts alive right until the end before getting the job done with four balls to spare.
A humdinger of a contest in Chennai. India never really got going. The openers perished early thanks to the pace from the English duo of Wood and Archer. SKY started fast. But fell. India kept losing wickets at one end. But Tilak Varma rode his luck a little. Arshdeep had a brain fade moment when he fell to Rashid.
Tilak Varma kept at it. Bishnoi gave him good support and India went over the line in a photo finish. England would rue the fact that Carse and Rashid’s spell got them back into this. But Archer’s costly spell didn’t help their cause as he leaked 60 runs off his four overs.
It was Tilak Varma all the way for India. He showed maturity beyond his age. He was fist pumping once the target was achieved. But didn’t show much emotions once he was at it. India were tested. But they wriggled out of it. Most of the problems posed for them were self inflicted. But that’s how T20 games pan out sometimes.
After the one-sided encounter in Kolkata, we’ve witnessed a tense finish here in Chennai as India take a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series. There was something in the pitch to keep everyone interested. Jos Buttler looked in good touch once again, India’s spinners threatened to skittle England out cheaply for the second time, but handy knocks from Smith and Carse resulted in them posting a competitive total.
The second innings saw a fiery battle – England’s pace vs India’s aggressive batting approach. England would have been the happier side after ten overs as they had picked five wickets. The pendulum kept swinging to and fro but Tilak Varma stole the show.
The stylish left-hander came out all guns blazing but batted brilliantly according to the situation to take his team home even though India kept losing wickets. That’s it for today. The action will move to Rajkot for the third T20I. Can England bounce back Or will India seal the series would be interesting to watch.