India’s young batter Tilak Varma scored his maiden T20I hundred in the third T20I against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday, November 13. The left-handed batsman celebrated the milestone by blowing a flying kiss towards the dugout.
The moment came in the 19th over, bowled by Lutho Sipamla. On the fourth delivery, Tilak played a shot straight down the ground, and the ball raced to the boundary after beating mid-off. After reaching his century, he took off his helmet and blew a kiss towards the dugout, as every player stood up to applaud his brilliant knock.
The 22-year-old Tilak Varma had come to bat on the third ball of the innings after Marco Jansen dismissed Sanju Samson for a duck. But the Hyderabad-born cricketer was in full flow from the start. He shared a 107-run partnership with Abhishek Sharma, who scored a quick-fire half-century off just 25 balls. Though there was a slight collapse later, India still finished with a strong total of 219/6 in 20 overs, thanks to Varma’s unbeaten 107* off 56 balls.
“I was waiting for this moment for a long time” – Tilak Varma
After the match, speaking to the host broadcaster, Tilak Varma expressed his pride in the “incredible” innings. He also mentioned that this was a very important outing for both him and Abhishek Sharma.
The four-match T20I series is currently tied at 1-1.
