“We’ve got Tilak Varma. He’s Rohit Sharma’s friend, he’s thrashing Pakistan, we’ve got Tilak Varma,” rang out from the live pocket at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday evening.
A group of Indian fans were in full swing, taking on the local DJ in a battle of decibels and creativity, creating chants on the fly as India took on Zimbabwe in their Super 8 clash. Their voices rose and fell like the waves crashing against the nearby Marina shore – rhythmic, relentless, full of life.
Tilak Varma soaked it up, smiling and embracing the energy.
IND vs ZIM T20 WORLD CUP 2026: MAIN | SCORECARD
Tilak redeemed himself in the best way against Zimbabwe. (PTI Photo)
Tilak, stationed along the border for much of the second half, became both a participant and a conductor. He turned toward the stands, nodded in agreement, and gestured back at the fans as if to say he was feeding off their energy. As the boisterous group started chanting, “Tilak ko bowling do”, he pointed at Suryakumar Yadav and playfully redirected their challenge to the man in charge. As the chants moved to “Abhishek ko bowling do”, Tilak ensured that his teammate was also dragged into the theater and urged the crowd to turn up for Abhishek Sharma to be part of the evening’s soundtrack.
CHEPAUK BREATHED WITH HIM
While Brian Bennett’s silky performance drew admiration and reminded everyone why the 22-year-old is being talked about in glowing terms, another performance was quietly unfolding along the ropes. Tilak’s smiles, gestures and playful exchanges created what appeared to be a parallel broadcast – the Tilak camera – capturing the cricketer completely in sync with his surroundings.
As the Marina breeze swept across Chepauk, carrying with it the scent of salt and the promise of calm, Tilak’s body language reflected the evening. He looked like a man standing on the shore of the sea after a day well spent – watching the waves roll in, feeling their rhythm and letting them wash away. He was alert, present and invested. But he was also unencumbered, allowing himself to sway into the chants, to dance on the edge of competition, to lead the joy rather than carry the weight. Tilak looked in his usual fiery touch during the clash with the Chepauks. (Photo: PTI)
It was the lightness of someone who had calmed down. Someone who rediscovered a part of himself that had briefly felt distant.
Because, heading into the crunch Super 8 match, Tilak wasn’t completely noiseless. There were questions — not about his place, but about his pace. His strike rate has become a matter of debate. He fell early in India’s heavy defeat to South Africa, and even in his steady contributions during the group stage on pitches that required patience, there was a lingering sense that he had yet to fully unwind.
But Chepauk changed the structure of this narrative.
WHEN THE TIDE STARTED TO TURN
First time since coming back from surgery Tilak looked like himself again – not just a batting defined by timing and composure, but a 23-year-old playing the game like a band, playing heavy metal along the coast. Loud when needed, measured when needed, but always in tune with the surrounding energy.
He didn’t look like a man weighed down by the responsibility of being an anchor, nor someone weighed down by a misfired top order. He looked free. He played his part. He finished his work.
And then, like someone who has earned his evening by the sea, Tilak stayed back – facing the waves of noise, smiling into them and vibrating with the Chennai crowd, who became part of his rhythm for those fleeting moments.
It was not easy for Tilak Varma.
India’s 76-run defeat of South Africa destroyed more than just their sheer speed. It unsettled the batting order and raised questions about balance and approach. The left-handed trio seemed prone to dueling with each other. The off-spinners were creeping into the power bowl and tightening up. Change was inevitable. Tilak’s comeback was personal after Super 8’s heavy flop. (PTI Photo)
India have reshuffled their order against Zimbabwe. Sanju Samson was launched by Abhishek Sharma. Ishan Kishan slotted in at No. 3. Tilak, who had quietly carried the burden of anchoring the innings, was dropped down the order. He got to No. 5 and ended up at No. 6 – only the seventh time in his T20 career that he has fallen so low.
It was unknown. It was revealing.
Was there no need to anchor?
Or has he lost his place in the XI?
His strikeout rate has quietly become a talking point. On complex surfaces, it was asked to absorb pressure rather than explode. The numbers didn’t tell the whole story, but they fed the noise.
There was 25 off 16 against USA in Mumbai. Then 25 off 21 against Namibia in Delhi. Another 25 off 24 against Pakistan in Colombo. And scored 31 off 27 against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad. And finally a rare failure – 1:2 – against South Africa.
They were individually responsible shifts. Together, they became a story that he was not the author of.
Tilak didn’t slow down. He held things together. But in T20 cricket, restraint rarely earns applause.
Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak understood the connections. He saw not hesitation, but duty.
“Sometimes the batsman doesn’t get those balls,” Kotak said. “If he gets a boundary or two and a six, the numbers change quickly. It’s not about runs. He hasn’t been told that, he doesn’t think like that.”
SOUND OF RELEASE
If there was noise outside, it was clear inside.
At practice on Tuesday night, Tilak batted like a man reconnected with instinct. Alongside Suryakumar Yadav in the spin nets, he went after the slow bowlers with a sense of purpose. He did not spare Varun Chakravarthy, the local hero, as he hit him cleanly into the stands. The sound of his bat was different – fuller, freer. It wasn’t the sound of restraint. It was the sound of the rhythm returning. Tilak’s intent was already visible in training ahead of the Zimbabwe clash. (PTI Photo)
And when his moment came on Thursday, he didn’t hesitate.
For the first time in the tournament, Tilak did not come to repair the damage. India were already on 172 for 4 after 15 overs when he came on alongside Hardik Pandya. The platform was solid. The storm has passed. The waves encouraged.
He entered with a license.
WHEN HE LET GO
His first statement was a slap in the face – sharp, confident, unapologetic. As Blessing Muzarabani burst in, towering and implacable, Tilak stooped and scooped him up effortlessly. Brad Evans tried to pull the ball away from his arc, but on this evening Tilak’s arc was expansive – shaped not by caution but by freedom. He reached out and sent her awake into the night.
This wasn’t the anchor that kept his feet in the water. He was someone who dived in without hesitation.
He tackled Muzarabani and Richard Ngarawa through the death overs to ensure India crossed 250 and posted the highest total of the tournament. Tilak finished unbeaten on 44 off just 16 balls. At the other end, Hardik Pandya brought up his half-century. But while Hardik constructed, Tilak flowed.
He batted like a man walking along the shore after laying down a weight he had carried for too long. Fresh. Fluid. Unencumbered.
“Sir, I always say that whatever the team needs, I am for it,” Tilak later said. “I have done different roles for Mumbai Indians and for India. I can adapt according to the situation.”
Accommodating this night felt less like a compromise and more like a liberation. Tilak went into full attack mode against the Zimbabwean bowlers. (Photo: PTI)
For months, Tilak was the one holding the form – careful, responsible, aware of the currents around him. At Chepauk he allowed himself to move with them. Role #6 required no restraint. It offered permission.
And Tilak embraced it.
What followed, the smiles along the boundary, the banter with the crowd, the slight rhythm in his body – was not separate from his innings. It was an extension of it.
He did his job.
And then, like someone who has earned his evening by the sea, Tilak stayed back—watching the waves of noise roll in, smiling at them and allowing himself, for the first time in a while, to simply be 23 again.
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– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
27 Feb 2026 10:37 IST
