Tilak’s Lovely Gesture for Rohit Sharma’s Daughter: ‘I Told Her Whenever I Get a Hundred or a Fifty, I’ll Do It'

Tilak Varma’s blazing fifty was India’s only beacon of hope in what turned out to be another bizarre batting show against the West Indies in the T20Is. Barring Varma’s half-century, Ishan Kishan (27), Hardik Pandya (24) and Axar Patel (14) were the others who scored in double digits. India struggled to post 153 after batting first but failed to defend it despite making a sudden comeback in the second innings. The Indies won the game by 2 wickets and now lead the series 2-0.

India’s poor batting has been exposed in the first two games of the five-match series against the West Indies. The opening pair has failed to provide good starts while the middle-order and the tail haven’t been able to withstand the Windies’ bowling attack on the tricky Caribbean surfaces.

Meanwhile, Tilak Varma has stood out with his remarkable knocks this series and is currently the highest scorer for India with 90 runs in two games. On Sunday, the Hyderabad batter notched up his maiden international fifty, with the help of 5 boundaries and a six, off just 39 balls and then his celebration became the talk of the town.

After reaching the milestone, Tilka raised his bat and then put it under his arms to do a thumbs-up action with both hands. The celebration was a mystery for many until the cricketer revealed it himself in the post-match presser.

Speaking after the game, Tilak said it was an act which he often does with Rohit Sharma’s daughter Samaira, fondly known as Sammy.

“It was all about Sammy, Rohit bhai’s daughter. Our relationship is very good. I had told her that whenever I score a hundred or a fifty for India, I’ll do it as a celebration. We both play with each other like that,” Tilak said.

The youngster also reflected on India’s back-to-back defeats, admitting that the visitors were 10 runs short.

“Wicket was a bit on the slower side and it was double-paced as well. We thought anything between 150-160 will be a good score. I guess at the end we were 10 runs short,” he said.

Tilak further praised West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran’s attacking innings that laid the foundation of the hosts’ thrilling win. The latter scored 40-ball 67, taking the match away from India’s grasp.

“Credit goes to Pooran, the way he batted. He put the pressure on the bowlers straightaway. We knew that we needed one wicket to turn things around because it was not going to be easy for a new batter,” he said.

“They bowled really good. They were hitting the hard lengths and used the slower one’s nicely. They used the wind nicely as well. All credit to them. We will sit and have a chat and will come back stronger,” he added.