India’s middle-order batter Tilak Varma said his breathtaking assault on pacer Jofra Archer in the second T20I was pre-planned and was intended to neutralise England’s best bowler, which in turn demoralised the rest of the pack.Tilak, who made an unbeaten 72 off 55 balls, creamed Archer for four sixes, including a scarcely believable pick-up flick over deep fine leg, as the Sussex man leaked 60 runs in his four overs at Chepauk on Saturday, January 25.
India won the match by two wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Archer had figures of 4-0-21-2 in the first match at Kolkata, underlining the success Tilak’s strategy had here.
“I wanted to target their best bowler. If you take on the best bowler, other bowlers will be under pressure. So, when the wickets are falling (at the other end), I want to take on their best bowlers,” Tilak said in the post-match press conference.
“If I do that it makes it easier (for other batters). So, I backed myself and took chances against him and also whatever shots that I have played against Archer, I have worked in the nets, mentally I was ready for them. So it has given me a good result,” he added.
Tilak said he was mentally prepared to stay till the end and was ready to tweak his game according to the team’s needs.
“I said (to myself) that whatever happens, I will be staying till the end, and I wanted to finish the game. I had a chat with Gautam (Gambhir) sir during the last match. I can play with a strike-rate of 6 or 7 or above 10, as per the team’s requirement. You should be flexible.
“Gautam sir also said during the drinks break (here). It is a time that you can show the people that you can play both type of innings. Happy that it paid off,” he said.
The 22-year-old showed immense calculation to use the English pacers’ pace and found a gap with surgical precision to accumulate runs without taking much risk.
The Hyderabadi then gave an elaborate peek into his game plan at the MAChidambaram Stadium.
“The wicket was double-paced and quite challenging. With the kind of pace (England bowlers were bowling), it will be tough to hit square of the wicket.
“So, I just wanted to use the pace and hit as much as I can behind (in the V behind the wicketkeeper). So, that’s what I have done and it has given me success,” he said.