Tilak Varma breaks a decade-old record with his marvellous ton against South Africa

Tilak Varma scored his maiden T20I century, remaining unbeaten on 107 in just 56 balls, comprising eight boundaries and seven maximums.

During his sensational knock, Tilak Varma created history during the third T20I against South Africa in Centurion. He was promoted to No.3 after India lost an early wicket, and the move reaped rewards for Tilak, who was in sensational touch in the middle.

Tilak scored his maiden T20I century, remaining unbeaten on 107 in just 56 balls, comprising eight boundaries and seven maximums. He played his shots all around the ground, but the best came from the on-side region, where he accumulated 66% of his total runs.

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He became the youngest T20I centurion against the top ten teams at just 22 years and 5 days, beating Ahmed Shehzad’s record against Bangladesh from 2014, who was 22 years and 127 days old. Two other Indians – Shubman Gill (23 years and 146 days) and Suresh Raina (23 years and 156 days) – are in third and fourth place on the list.

Tilak achieved this record against a strong South African bowling unit, especially given his weaknesses. He can struggle against hard lengths but handled them well in this innings and also had several loose stuff to work with throughout his stay.

Tilak Varma imitates Suresh Raina in another elite record

Tilak Varma joined Suresh Raina in another elite list after making a fabulous ton against South Africa. He is now only the second left-handed Indian batter after Suresh Raina to hit a T20I century while batting as a non-opener.

Overall, there are two other Indian LHBs to score a hundred in T20Is—Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma. However, both of them scored while playing as openers, and the opponents they faced were low on quality in the bowling department, making things easier for them.

Tilak’s terrific knock ensured India posted a whopping 219/6 in the first innings, which proved to be a match-winning total in the end. While South Africa came close during the chase, the target was too big to chase, and they fell short by 11 runs.

India have gained a 2-1 lead and can’t lose the series now. Tilak won the Player of the Match award for his marvellous knock, which was the difference between the two teams.

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