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Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has showered big praise on youngster Tilak Varma, comaring his match-winning abilities to that of legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni. Manjrekar's remarks came after Tilak single-handedly took India to a win over England in the second T20I on Saturday, despite wickets falling at the other end. Manjrekar highlighted how Tilak managed to keep his composure till the end, something which Dhoni used to during his playing days. Needing 166 to win, Tilak's 55-ball 72 steered India home with four balls to spare.
"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," Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.
Since his debut in August 2023, Tilak has been one of the best young performers for India in the format, especially in the last few months. His elevation to number three on the tour of South Africa was an instant success through his back-to-back centuries.
After the match, Tilak reflected on the pressure-filled final overs of the chase, saying he always had it in his mind to play till the end.
"Gautam sir told me in the last innings that when you need 10 runs in an over, you can do that too. When you need 7-8 runs, your role is very crucial. So, you need to stay till the end. No matter how you play, let the non-striker score. Your job is to get one or two boundaries in an over and take singles."
"If you stay till the end, we win the game. He told me this in the last match as well. And even today, during the drinks break, he told me, no matter what happens, you need to play till the end. So, I had it in my mind that I would play till the end. And I believed that I would win the match," Tilak told the broadcaster's after the match.
(With IANS Inputs)