Century after century—Tilak's world record of scoring 100 in three consecutive T20Is

 Century after century—Tilak's world record of scoring 100 in three consecutive T20Is

51, 41, 51—these aren't individual innings, but the number of balls Tilak Verma has faced to score 100 runs in the last three competitive T20Is. Tilak, who struck centuries in the final two matches of the series against South Africa, added another century to his name today in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, playing an explosive knock of 151 runs off 66 balls.

With today's performance, Tilak has etched his name in T20 history, becoming the only cricketer to score a century in three consecutive recognized T20 matches.

In today's match against Meghalaya in Rajkot, Tilak smashed 10 sixes for Hyderabad. He had previously hit 10 sixes in his last match against South Africa, and 7 in the one before that. Over these three matches, he has hit a total of 27 sixes and scored 378 runs off 169 balls.

Tilak Verma was previously known in the IPL as a versatile batsman capable of keeping wickets and scoring at a strike rate of 120-130. However, what he has been showcasing in recent days has taken his game to an entirely new level.

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Though he made his international debut in August 2023, Tilak struggled to establish himself in the team during his first year, often finding himself in and out of the squad. In October, Shivam was given a chance to replace Dube in the series against Bangladesh, but Tilak didn’t get a chance to feature in the playing XI. Despite these challenges, he marked his breakthrough with a spectacular century in T20 International cricket on November 13 against South Africa, playing an unbeaten knock of 107 runs off 56 balls.

Rishabh Pant now bats at number 3 for India in T20s, but a century alone isn’t enough to secure that spot. Ultimately, India prefers to give opportunities to tried-and-tested cricketers. Tilak Verma was given a chance during Pant’s absence in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against South Africa, and he seized the opportunity in the very next match, scoring a blistering 41-ball century and finishing unbeaten on 120 runs off 47 balls.

With today’s remarkable performance, it’s clear that Tilak has firmly established himself in the T20 squad. Mumbai Indians retained him for ₹8 crore in the IPL, and had they not, tomorrow's IPL auction could have seen his price soar even higher!

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