West Indies vs India: Tilak Varma On Cusp Of Surpassing Virat Kohli, KL Rahul In Elite T20I List

10.08.2023 - 15:19 sports.ndtv.com

Tilak Varma has looked highly promising in his first three T20I matches for the Indian team. So far, the youngster has registered scores of 39, 51 and 49 not out in the first three T20Is against the West Indies.

India now trail 1-2 in the five-match series after beating West Indies in the third T20I in Guyana on Tuesday. With India needing to win both matches in order to clinch the series, Tilak is on the cusp of surpassing Virat Kohli in an elite T20I list.

As the focus shift towards the double-header in Lauderhill, California, Tilak could go past Kohli to become the Indian player with most runs in a five-match T20I series.

Kohli scored 231 runs in five matches during a series against England in 2021 and is fifth in the overall list, which is led by New Zealand batter Mark Chapman (290 runs) Kohli is fourth in the list, while KL Rahul is just behind him in fifth with 224 runs against New Zealand in a five-match series.

cricket India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team 2023 on Virat Kohli Hardik Pandya Tilak Varma Kl Rahul New Zealand India state California Guyana

India went on an experimentation spree in the limited overs series against the West Indies but not much came out of it except Tilak Varma emerging as a contender for a World Cup middle-order slot on the back of his exploits in the T20 series. Ahead of the Asia Cup and subsequent World Cup, India were looking for options in the middle-order in the ODI series but the number four slot remains up for grabs.

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India's captain for the T20I series against West Indies, Hardik Pandya became a trending topic on social media platforms after his 'selfish act' denied Tilak Varma a half-century on Tuesday. Hardik hit a six to win the 3rd T20I for India despite knowing that the non-striker Tilak Varma only needed one run to complete his half-century. As fans slammed Hardik, many videos of the 'selfless' MS Dhoni went viral on the internet as fans recalled how the 'Captain Cool' used to handle such situations.

Suryakumar Yadav Back To Best As India Keep T20I Series Alive With Seven-Wicket Win Against West Indies

Suryakumar Yadav was back to his disdainful best as India stayed alive in the series with a seven-wicket win over the West Indies in the third T20I here on Tuesday. West Indies skipper Rovman Powell's whirlwind 40 not out off 19 balls pushed the hosts to 159 for five after Kuldeep Yadav (3/28) stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs. Debutant Yashavi Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6) got out cheaply in run chase before Suryakumar came up with a special 83 off 44 balls to help India gun down the target in 17.5 overs. Tilak Varma (49 not out off 37) was happy to play second fiddle to his senior Mumbai Indians teammate in their 87-run stand. Tilak missed his second straight fifty in his debut series as skipper Hardik Pandya (20 not out off 15) hit the winning six.

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India vs West Indies, 3rd T20I, Live Updates: Trailing 0-2 in the five-match series, Team India will aim for a victory in the must-win match against West Indies on Tuesday in Guyana. The hosts have taken a 2-0 lead over India.