Follow UsIt was only five days ago that Tilak Varma played the knock of his life in the Asia Cup Final against Pakistan, and the young superstar is already back to grinding it out in domestic cricket.
The left-hander featured in the second unofficial ODI against Australia ‘A’ today and picked up from right where he left off in Dubai as he smashed an impressive 94 under significant pressure to help India ‘A’ post a fighting total. Tilak batted at No.3, but he saw India ‘A’ being put under immense pressure early on, with Abhishek Sharma (0), Prabhsimran Singh (1) and captain Shreyas Iyer (8) all perishing early. The hosts were teetering at 17/3 at one stage, with Australia ‘A’ all over them.
However, just as he did in the Asia Cup final, the 22-year-old showcased nerves of steel to absorb the pressure and pile on the runs. Tilak stitched a 101-run stand with Riyan Parag (58) but apart from that, he built the entire innings by himself as India ‘A’ were bowled out for 246. The left-hander hit 5 fours and 4 sixes in his carefully crafted knock.
For Australia ‘A’, all-rounder Jack Edwards stole the show with a four-wicket haul, while Will Sutherland was arguably the pick of the bowlers, registering figures of 9-3-25-2. The capped Tanveer Sangha also took 2 wickets, but he was expensive, conceding 69 off the 10 overs he bowled.
India ‘A’ won the first unofficial ODI by 171 runs thanks to centuries from Iyer and Priyansh Arya.