India T20I vice-captain Tilak Varma called it a big relief that India won the Zimbabwe T20I series after going 2-0 up in the series with one match to go. India defeated Zimbabwe by 90 runs in the second T20I on Saturday, July 25.
India was asked to bat first by Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, who had won the toss. Abhishek Sharma failed once again, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made 20 runs in 9 balls. However, it was Ishan Kishan, whose 81 in 44 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes kept India in the game, and he got support from Shreyas Iyer (25).
India also got a strong finish, with Tilak Varma slamming 60* in 29 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes as the Men in Blue finished on 219/5 in 20 overs.
In response, Brian Bennett (32) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (24) were the main scorers for Zimbabwe as they managed only 129 runs. For India, Abhishek Sharma took 3/17, while debutant Yash Thakur and Prince Yadav took two wickets each.
After losing the T20I series to Ireland and England, Tilak Varma said victories against Zimbabwe proved to be quite a big relief for the Indian team. He also praised Ishan Kishan for his knock, as the duo shared a 94-run partnership.
"It’s quite a bit of a relief for us. If you see, the last two series didn’t go our way. But especially the way we have played the last two games was really good. I just held my shape, and I was backing myself. I got those few good boundaries, and from there I just kept going. First of all, I want to just say something about Ishan. The way he played was tremendous to watch. Right from the first ball, he showed that intent, and from there, it was important to carry on,” Tilak Varma said in a video posted by BCCI.
Before he and Kishan seized charge of the innings, Tilak also gave captain Shreyas Iyer credit for giving the early momentum with a helpful cameo.
“A small cameo from Iyer was also important for the team. From there, I just wanted to maintain that momentum throughout the overs. That’s what I was discussing with Ishan, that I would look for good shots down the ground," he added.
Tilak also starred with the ball, taking the wicket of all-rounder Ryan Burl, and said that he has been working hard on his bowling and hopes to contribute regularly as an all-rounder.
"Honestly, I didn’t expect that he'd go right from the first ball. The thing is, I’m working really hard on my bowling. If you give two overs or three overs for the team, it really helps. That’s what’s in my mind right now. Going forward, my aim is to give the team at least two or three overs because it really helps the combination," he said.
