Kolkata: It wasn’t a century, not even a half-century. But this 16-ball unbeaten 44 felt like something far more substantial: a reminder that Tilak Varma can flip roles without flinching.
Not long ago, in the Asia Cup final, Varma channeled his resilience into a gritty 69 off 53 balls that navigated a charged up Pakistan bowling attack on a tricky surface. Zimbabwe are not Pakistan, and the circumstances too couldn’t have been more different on Thursday, but there’s no denying Varma unleashed a side of him that India sought for a long time.
Before Thursday, his highest score in the T20 World Cup was 25, and his strike rate a lowly 118. Tilak’s journey in international cricket is still in its early chapters. Expectations arrived early though, largely fuelled by his IPL performances and fearless strokeplay. With expectations comes scrutiny. Every low score becomes a question mark; every dismissal, a debate. Only a jailbreak innings like this could have lifted the gloom.
This came at a juncture different from the previous three innings though. In the South Africa and Netherlands matches, Varma had come in at No 3 in the first over. In the Pakistan match the opening stand stretched to the first over, which barely made any difference in the context of Varma’s entry point. In the Zimbabwe game though, Ishan Kishan came at No 3 and Varma was pushed to six, meaning by the time he came to bat in the 15th over, India were already set up for a massive score.
Varma maintains batting position makes no difference to him.
“I always say that whatever the team needs, I’m up for it. I’ve done the same role since the last four years in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and also a few games for the Indian team,” said Varma at the post-match press conference. “So I’m up for it. Whatever the team needs, I’m up and according to the situation, I can adjust. But yes, I was just waiting for one innings. I’m pretty confident now that going forward, I can win the games for the team.”
There was a particular sequence that defined his knock—two fours followed by a six that was muscled over extra cover, but off a slower ball with impeccable timing and placement. It was an innings built not on adrenaline, but awareness. And some premeditatedness as well, given how he smoked three sixes after that—all over long-on and midwicket—just like he was hitting at an extended training session two days before the game.
From India’s point of view, Varma’s 44 was less about volume and more about validation in a middle-order that was seeking some stability. It came at a time when Varma is still shaping his identity in India’s crowded batting order, still searching for innings that don’t just fill the scorecard but fortify belief. What this innings does is subtle yet significant. It says Varma can anchor as well as attack. It reaffirms the point him he can absorb pressure. It tells he can be trusted in different match situations, not just as a stabiliser, but also as an enforcer. Hardik Pandya’s free flowing hits helped, but Varma too kept matching him shot for shot.
It syncs perfectly with this Indian team’s T20 outlook. “If a wicket falls, I will hit a six next ball. And then I will look for a four,” he said.
Although it wasn’t that random because Suryakumar Yadav had revealed just a little before the press conference that a lot of introspection had gone into their batting before this match.
“We didn’t think too much about what we did in the league stage or what we did in the last game in Ahmedabad,” said Yadav. “But thoroughly, we had a slide which our video analyst had made for all the batters and all the bowlers, what we did over the year. We saw that slide, took a lot of positivity from that. And when we came here, I think with contributions from all the batters from top till number seven, I think it was heartening to see.”
This batting lineup is fiercely competitive. To guarantee a spot, performances need to be strong. And while a 44 might not dominate headlines, it strengthens Varma’s case as a dependable middle-order option.
It demonstrates growth—he can be a thinking cricketer as well as a free-flowing batter. Perhaps that’s the biggest takeaway from Thursday’s one-sidedness. Evolution defines longevity in international cricket. And the players who endure are those who keep adding layers to their game. Just like Varma did at Chepauk.
