Tilak described the atmosphere during India’s warm-up match against South Africa at a packed DY Patil Stadium as a major confidence booster, especially with fans chanting his name as he walked out to bat.
File Photo: ANI
India all-rounder Tilak Varma, who made a confident return to the national setup after recovering from a three-week layoff due to surgery, credited the BCCI and the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for enabling his quicker-than-expected comeback and said both he and the team feel fully prepared for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Tilak described the atmosphere during India’s warm-up match against South Africa at a packed DY Patil Stadium as a major confidence booster, especially with fans chanting his name as he walked out to bat. India signed off their World Cup preparations in emphatic fashion, defeating South Africa by 30 runs in a high-scoring contest in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.
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“To be honest I did not expect I will be back on the field this early. Really thankful for COE and BCCI. I always say that the World Cup is my biggest dream to play. The way, I entered the ropes and everyone was shouting ‘Tilak Tilak.’ So I didn’t expect that. I really felt nice and it also boost me when I was going in,” Tilak said.
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“The way Ishan was batting, I have seen him, the way Abhishek and everyone was batting, so I was also a bit like ‘Mai bhi maarunga jaake.’ I did not expect a full crowd, the DY Patil was fully packed. It was just a warm up game but still the craze… Really thanks to everyone. The vibe was really terrific, and yeah- Tilak and the Indian team is ready for the World Cup,” Tilak said in a video shared by bcci.tv.
Opting to bat first, India produced a dominant batting display, led by Ishan Kishan’s explosive 53 off just 20 deliveries. Kishan and Abhishek Sharma set the tone with a rapid opening stand, racing to 80/1 inside the powerplay before both openers retired out to allow other batters time in the middle.
Tilak, inspired by the aggressive approach around him, continued the onslaught with a brisk 45 off 19 balls, adding 66 runs with captain Suryakumar Yadav. Late cameos from Axar Patel and Rinku Singh, followed by Hardik Pandya’s blistering 30 off just 10 balls, propelled India to an imposing total of 240/5.
South Africa’s reply stumbled early when Arshdeep Singh removed George Linde for a duck. Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton briefly revived the chase with a 65-run partnership, but Markram’s retirement and the quick dismissals of Rickelton, Dewald Brevis and David Miller swung momentum decisively in India’s favour.
Despite resistance from Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen, South Africa eventually fell short by 30 runs.
India will now shift their focus to the tournament opener against the USA on February 7.
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