Pakistan players had “a lot to say” to Tilak Varma when he walked to the crease during the Asia Cup final which fired up the Indian batter to play one of the most defining innings of his career thus far. Having lost early wickets, India were in a precarious situation when Tilak came out to bat. Considering the hostilities between the two teams, there was plenty said to Tilak as well, but he kept his composure to produce a batting masterclass in a high-pressure scenario. “I wanted my bat to do the talking. They were saying a lot of things, I just wanted to respond
with my bat. Now they are not visible on the ground,” said Tilak in a chat with teammate Shivam Dube on BCCI TV. The 60-run stand between Dube and Tilak helped India win the Asia Cup with two balls to spare. Tilak remained unbeaten on 69 off 53 balls. “I think my bat did the talking as well; they did not have much to say to me,” said Dube in a light-hearted conversation.
Tilak added that the atmosphere in the stadium fuelled him to excel in a high-stakes contest. “The chants of Vande Matram in the stands gave me goosebumps. I just want to say Bharat mata ki jai,” added Tilak. Besides the crucial 33 in the middle-order, Dube was handed a stiff challenge of bowling the first over of the game in the absence of injured Hardik Pandya. There were serious question marks over his bowling not so long ago but Dube passed the bowling test as well with flying colours.
“There is a lot of hard work behind (my bowling) and prayers of Indian team supporters. Lot of support and confidence has been given by the management. It was a crucial game, I got a big opportunity. It was fun,” concluded Dube.
