Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised Tilak Varma for his outstanding innings in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan, while taking a subtle dig at Haris Rauf.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that Rauf’s expensive bowling was one of the reasons India reached the target comfortably.
“Tilak Varma absolutely stole the show. He showed that he’s made of veins of ice,” he said. “Outstanding knock. India were in a very precarious situation. Thanks to Haris Rauf, we won the match easily.”
Chasing 147, India were struggling at one point, having lost the in-form Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and captain Suryakumar Yadav for just 20 runs. Then Tilak played a mature innings of 69 runs from 53 balls, including three fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 130.19, to guide India to the title.
Pakistan’s most successful bowler in T20Is, Rauf conceded 50 runs from his 3.4 overs at an economy rate of 13.60, without taking a single wicket.
Ashwin analysed Tilak’s innings and explained why it was a brilliant knock.
“Tilak Varma soaked up the pressure. He played spin really well. He played sweeps, he was able to hit down the ground. He realised that the bounce on the wicket was a little sticky and started playing square of the wicket. People think that it is easy to hit this shot (the six off Rauf), but falling in line and picking it up is difficult,” he said.
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