Not long ago, Tilak Varma was retired out for his poor strike rate against LSG back in 2025 after failing to accelerate in the innings. At that point of time, the decision was much debated about, and many wondered what was the batter’s future in T20s. Then, against the Gujarat Titans on April 20, he was once again heading there, scoring 19 off 22 balls at a strike rate of 86.36. Then, a switch flicked, and Tilak was a changed man. On the next 23 balls, he unleashed, hammering 82 runs at a whopping strike rate of 356.50 to complete his maiden IPL century off just 45 balls.
Despite having 24 fifties to his name in the 149 T20s that he has played so far, Varma never scored a hundred in the IPL. He scored the second century of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). His lone-warrior knock allowed MI to reach 199/5 at the end of 20 overs, thereby establishing himself as one of the strongest players in the shortest format of the game. This came while he batted at number 5, another testament that he is better off while batting down the order than at number 3.
Tilak Varma slams maiden IPL century
Tilak slammed 101 runs off 45 deliveries, striking 8 fours and 7 sixes at a strike rate of 224.44 in the game against the Gujarat Titans. The explosive middle-order batter started of on a slow note by scoring just 19 runs off 22 deliveries. However, he seemed to have turned the switch on after the strategic time-out. From a strike rate of 86.36 in the first 22 deliveries, Varma went to striking at 356.5 off the next 23 balls.
Before this contest, Varrma had registered scores of 20, 0, 14, 1, and 8. It took 22 deliveries for Varma to get his first boundary on Monday. And thereafter, there was no stopping him. Over the course of the next few deliveries, he dealt in boundaries and sixes to become the second batter after Sanju Samson to register a century in IPL 2026.
Varma had a mixed run in the T20 World Cup 2026. After faltering at number 3 initially, he was demoted in the batting line-up. This turned out to be a boon for him as he was able to bat freely. Overall, he finished with 205 runs from 9 matches. Tilak did manage to get good starts but failed to convert them into high-scoring knocks.
Cricket
From 19 off 22 to 82 off 23, Tilak Varma unleashes to score maiden IPL century, breaks out of poor form
