Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar drew a comparison between Tilak Varma’s match-winning skills and MS Dhoni after India’s victory in the second T20I against England in Chennai. Manjrekar compared Varma’s composure and finishing ability to Dhoni’s under pressure.
Varma played a match-winning knock of 72 not out from 55 balls, helping India chase down 166 with two wickets to spare. Coming in early, he remained composed as the middle-order faltered, with support from the lower-order batters to secure a 2-0 series lead.
When asked about Varma’s ability to adjust his game to the situation, Manjrekar praised the youngster for remaining composed, even when boundaries were required to ease the pressure in the 19th over. The 59-year-old highlighted that Varma’s confidence at such a young age reminded him of Dhoni.
Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo’s Timeout, he commented:
“Absolutely. The confidence he has that he will be able to see India through the very end and even in this run chase, there was no panic around the 18th over. Even in the 19th over, you could see that India wasn’t getting the boundary that could take the pressure off.”
“But he was quite happy to virtually be there till the end. It seems the guy who is confident and being the man who can take his team through, just like we had a legend in the past in the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had the same confidence. So, when you have a player like him, batting at No.3, he might be taking on that role, which is not such a bad thing.”
“The wicket was a bit two-paced” – Tilak Varma reflects on guiding Team India to victory
After being named Player of the Match following India’s victory, Tilak Varma shared that coach Gautam Gambhir had encouraged him to adapt to the situation and take responsibility. The 22-year-old credited the South Africa tour for preparing the team to tackle England’s bowlers effectively and said during the post-match presentation:
“The wicket was slightly two-paced. I was talking with Gautam sir yesterday, he said whatever happens, you should play according to the situation. If team needs ten an over, you should take charge, if something else, you should stand till the end.”
“Team discussed that left-right combination will be a good option, it will be difficult for opposition bowlers as well. We already played in South Africa, their bowlers were quicker. We were prepared. Archer and Wood are quick, our guys prepared well, we worked hard in the nets and we got the results.”
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.