India will be facing Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup match on 15th February at the R Premedasa Stadium, Colombo. Ahead of the game, Tilak Varma has shared his experience of playing against the Men in Green in the Asia Cup final. As the Southpaw played a match-winning innings against Salman Ali Agha’s side in the final.
While chasing a target of 147, India were crumbling at 20/3. Tilak Varma stepped in between Pakistan’s win and India’s loss. The Southpaw showcased an amazing temperament in the final of the 2025 Asia Cup, scoring an unbeaten 69 off 53 balls to take the Men in Blue over the line and help them to extend their record to 9th Asia Cup title.
Tilak Varma shares his Asia Cup final experience
While speaking in a candid interview with GQ India, Tilak said, “I was sweating even before I entered to bat. India had won both games against Pakistan before that; everyone was expecting India to win easily again, but it’s Dubai, it’s the final, it’s against Pakistan. They had such a good bowling attack, and all I was thinking was: we can’t lose this game.”
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Tilak Varma brought in all the experience of the IPL, as he has played many innings for the Mumbai Indians in the toughest T20 league in the world. He further said, “I’ve done this since I was a child, I’ve done this for the Mumbai Indians, I’ve made a name for myself playing under pressure,” he says matter-of-factly, each word as precise as the shots that flow from his bat when he was on ful flow.
Tilak used his IPL experience to take India past the line
The left-handed batter concluded, saying, “I kept telling myself, I will do it; whatever happens, I will win the game for the country. I was just listening to my heart, not my mind. There was so much going on in my head, but I was just breathing. I looked at the India logo on my jersey and what it means to me. I also knew that God was with me. So yeah, everything went well.”
In the match, Shivam Dube also played a part, scoring 33 off 22 balls and stitching a partnership with Tilak during India’s difficult situation. After his sensational innings against Pakistan, his average went upto 92 in successful run chases for India in T20Is. Tilak Varma looked in good touch in the first game against the USA, but could not convert into a big score.
Tilak Varma key to India’s success?
Tilak Varma has been India’s best batter at No.3 in the shortest format of the game after the 2024 T20 World Cup. In this position, he has scored two centuries and three fifties with an average of 56.70, scoring 567 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 160.62.
He will be looking to find his rhythm back and score big runs against Namibia on Thursday at the Arun Jaitely Stadium to gain confidence back ahead of the blockbuster clash against Pakistan. India is on a 5-match winning streak against Pakistan across all competitions.
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