Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan showered praise on Tilak Varma after Mumbai Indians registered a six-wicket win against Punjab Kings at Dharamshala on Thursday. In the run chase of 201, Tilak Varma scored a majestic knock of 75 runs off just 33 balls.
The left-hander scored six fours and as many sixes in his match-winning knock. The southpaw scored his runs at a strike rate of 227.27 and was awarded Player of the Match for his fine batting performance.
Tilak added 61 runs with Sherfane Rutherford and then added 56 runs with Will Jacks and did the bulk of the scoring in both partnerships.
“Tilak Varma, high-class batting. He is an extremely smart batter. He catches the pulse of the game very well. We saw that in the Asia Cup final. You would remember that innings against Pakistan. Here also, in the chase, the way he batted was praiseworthy,” Irfan Pathan said on JioHotstar.
Pathan praised Varma for taking Marco Jansen to the cleaners in the 18th over when MI needed 50 runs off the last three overs.
“Regarding Tilak Varma knowing the pulse of the game, as soon as Marco Jansen came, he took him to task. He knew he had to make that over big. 22 runs came in that over. It means you had made the match easy,” Pathan observed.
The former swing bowler continued his praise on Varma, stating the left-hander knows how to deliver in high-pressure situations.
“It’s a difficult job, but he is a player who has won the World Cup recently. He is the player who won India the Asia Cup final before that. He is a confident player, and a good player. I feel he should bat slightly up the order whenever he plays T20 cricket. It suits him if the ball is slightly new and comes with a little more pace onto the bat,” he responded.
“There wasn’t much pace on today’s pitch, but the bounce was very good, and he used the bounce extremely well. He uses the switch hits. He targets the leg side a lot. The shots he hit straight were praiseworthy. He holds his shape. He is a technically correct batter,” Pathan observed.
Mumbai Indians will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Wednesday.
