"Wanted to attack the leg-spinner": Tilak Varma on his mindset during first T20I against Australia
Nov 25, 2023
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], November 25 : Ahead of his team's second T20I against Australia, Indian middle-order batter Tilak Varma said that he wanted to attack the leg spinners in the previous match while skipper Suryakumar Yadav attacked the pacers.
India and Australia will lock horns in the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. India has a 1-0 lead in the series. In the game during a 209-run chase, Tilak showed a lot of positive intent with some sweeps, reverse sweeps, but was dismissed by spinner Tanveer Sangha for 12.
"About the last innings, my mindset was to take the charge and attack against a leg spinner. I wanted to take 10 runs per over. Against pacers, Suryakumar Yadav, the skipper was batting. I was confident that he would finish the game. So I decided to attack the leg spinner," said Tilak in the post-match press conference.
Tilak said that he has a clear mindset with his game, that if the ball is "in his arc" he will hit it or just rotate the strike.
On Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy, Tilak said that his Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate is very calm and clear in his mind.
"I have played under Suryakumar's captaincy in IPL. He captained in one match. He is very calm and collected. He is very clear in his thoughts. He managed to play well in tough situations in the last game as well," said Tilak.
Tilak said that it is important that all 11 players in a team are equally involved on the field and give suggestions to their captains.
On playing in Kerala, Tilak said that the wicket here is usually slow and turning.
"I have good memories of playing in Kerala. I was playing U19 cricket against South Africa. Back then, it was a seaming wicket. But usually, it is bit slow and turning. We will practice and see how the wicket goes," he added.
On batter Rinku Singh's finishing, Tilak said that he likes finishing games as well and would like to finish the upcoming games just like the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star.
