Tilak Varma rewrote history books on Monday, April 21, as he equalled Sanath Jayasuriya’s record for scoring the joint-fastest hundred for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL history.
Tilak equalled Jayasuriya’s almost 18-year-old record. For the unversed, Jayasuriya had scored a 45-ball ton against Chennai Super Kings in match No. 36 of the inaugural edition (2008) of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
His 48-ball unbeaten 114 came at a strike rate of 237.50. His innings was studded with mine fours and 11 sixes. It helped Mumbai scale their target of 157 with nine wickets and 37 balls to spare. Jayasuriya was adjudged the Player of the Match (POTM).
Tilak Varma rewrites history books
Tilak was also crowned the Player of the Match as Mumbai beat Gujarat Titans by 99 runs. The difference between Tilak’s strike rate in his first 20 balls and the remainder of his innings was 251, which is the highest for any batter in an IPL innings.
Tilak also became only the fourth batter in the history of the cash-rich league to score a hundred after coming to bat at No. 5 or lower in an innings.
Tilak (101*) became the first Mumbai Indians batter to outscore the opposition after Titans perished for 100. Overall, he is the eighth to achieve the feat in the lucrative tournament.
While it may come as a surprise to many, Tilak’s ton against the Titans was his first in the Indian Premier League. It was also his maiden Player of the Match award in IPL. Among batters, only Parthiv Patel had to wait longer (63 matches) to win a Player of the Match award in the IPL.
Tilak’s innings was laced with boundaries. He hit eight fours and smashed seven sixes at an eye-popping strike rate of 224.44. The southpaw helped Mumbai break their four-match-long losing streak. Mumbai are now seventh on the points table with two wins and four losses after six games. They have a net run rate (NRR) of 0.067.
