16 May,2026 07:17 AM IST | Dharamsala | Agencies
Tilak Varma during his 75 not out vs PBKS in Dharamsala on Thursday. Pic/IPL
Tilak Varma said self-belief and calmness under pressure helped him guide Mumbai Indians (MI) to a thrilling victory over Punjab Kings after his unbeaten 75 off 33 balls here on Thursday.
Chasing a challenging target of 201, MI completed the chase with one ball to spare, with Tilak anchoring the innings brilliantly.
Tilak smashed six fours and six sixes in a composed yet aggressive innings.
Reflecting on his approach during the tense chase, Tilak said he always backed himself to finish the game. "I always feel I am the man who believes in himself. If you won't believe in yourself, then no one will. So I always say that I'll finish the game," Tilak said in a video posted by IPL on X.
Tilak said international exposure helped him improve his finishing abilities in pressure chases.
"To be honest, I do like to finish games, but having played the [T20] World Cup and some international games, I've come to know how to finish the games," he said after receiving the Player of the Match award.
The left-hander revealed that during the second strategic timeout, he had spoken with the team coach about waiting for one big over to swing the momentum completely.
"That's what I was also talking [about] with our coach today [Thursday] during the second strategic timeout. One big over and the game will be done. That one big over came [20 off Yuzvendra Chahal's 16th over], and I knew I'll finish the game," he said.
MI were under pressure during the closing stages after Sherfane Rutherford was dismissed in the 17th over. However, Tilak continued to attack confidently and completed his half-century in just 25 balls.
"So four balls, eight runs, and when I missed that shot [off Xavier Bartlett], I knew that I'll finish the game in one or two balls. So, I was just waiting, believing in myself, and I was just breathing," Tilak explained.
Eight
No. of times 200 or more runs have been conceded by PBKS in the ongoing IPL - the most by any team in a single edition
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
