<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/tilak-to-lead-india-a-in-tri-series-sooryavanshi-also-included-23630556" rel="nofollow">Tilak Varma</a> 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. &ldquo;I always feel I am the man who believes in himself. If you won&rsquo;t believe in yourself, then no one will. So I always say that I&rsquo;ll finish the game,&rdquo; Tilak said in a video posted by <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-sunil-gavaskar-speaks-about-punjab-kings-loss-against-mumbai-indians-23630648" rel="nofollow">IPL</a> on X.
Tilak said international exposure helped him improve his finishing abilities in pressure chases.
&ldquo;To be honest, I do like to finish games, but having played the [T20] World Cup and some international games, I&rsquo;ve come to know how to finish the games,&rdquo; 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.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;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 <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/chahal-quits-alcohol-to-take-care-of-his-body-ahead-of-ipl-23621701" rel="nofollow">Yuzvendra Chahal</a>&rsquo;s 16th over], and I knew I&rsquo;ll finish the game,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
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.
&ldquo;So four balls, eight runs, and when I missed that shot [off Xavier Bartlett], I knew that I&rsquo;ll finish the game in one or two balls. So, I was just waiting, believing in myself, and I was just breathing,&rdquo; Tilak explained.
Eight No. of times 200 or more runs have been conceded by PBKS in the ongoing IPL &mdash; the most by any team in a single edition&nbsp;
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