India’s rookie batter Tilak Varma admitted they were 10 runs short after their two-wicket loss against the West Indies at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Sunday. India posted 152-7 in their 20 overs after Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bat first.
In fact, the visitors got off to a sedate start, scoring 34-2 in the Powerplay overs. However, Tilak Varma was the star of the show as he once again top-scored with 51 runs, scoring his maiden T20I fifty.
Varma scored his runs all around the ground as he smashed five fours and one six in his fine knock. However, the 20-year-old youngster didn’t get the support from the other end as none of the Indian batters could get going.
The pitch was on the slow side but the Indian batsmen failed to execute their plans and were at least 15 runs short of a par score.
“The wicket was on the slower side and slightly double-paced, and that’s why we thought that 150 or 160 would be a good score,” Tilak said of the second game, which West Indies won by two wickets with seven balls in hand. “I think we were ten runs short, other than that I thought we played well.”
Varma feels the West Indies’ bowlers made the most of their own conditions and bowled in the right areas to keep them at bay.
“They were bowling really good,” he said. “When they bowled, they were using slower ones and hard lengths really well and they used the wind conditions really well.”
Meanwhile, the 20-year-old has impressed in his young career. The youngster has scored 740 runs in 25 IPL matches for Mumbai Indians at an average of 38.95 and a blistering strike rate of 144.53.
“Everyone knows that the two IPL seasons were my turning point. I am here because of my performances there,” he acknowledged. “So I am just playing with that confidence and going forward I want to continue what I’ve been doing.
“In my first IPL season, he [Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians captain] told me that I am an all-format player and that was a huge boost for me. That gave me a lot of confidence. He told me from then that I have to be consistent and for that I need to be disciplined off the field. So I take his guidance and have been following the things he has told me to do.”
The third T20I of the series will be played at the same venue of Providence Stadium, Guyana on Tuesday.
