Tilak Verma, who was the hero of Mumbai Indians’ victory against Gujarat Titans, has given a stinging statement to captain Hardik Pandya after the match. Thanks to Tilak’s unbeaten inning of 101 runs in 45 balls, Mumbai defeated Gujarat by 99 runs. After the match he said that personally I like to bat at number three. However, I am ready to bat wherever the team needs me, but if anyone asks me, I will always say number three.
Tilak Verma told GeoHotstar, “This century was very important for the team and me. For the last four-five matches, the only thing that was constantly running in my mind was that I had not spent much time at the crease and had not faced many balls. So my aim was to spend some time on the wicket and then bat as per the condition of the team.”
Regarding his strategy, Tilak said that he made an initial assessment of the pitch and focused on hitting straight shots. He said, “Whenever the Mumbai Indians team comes to Ahmedabad, we usually play matches on a black soil pitch, which is a little slow. It is not that our batsmen cannot adapt to it, but we know what we can do if there is more bounce on the pitch.”
Tilak further said, “The ball was staying slow and low, so we had to adjust to it and try to hit straight shots. The ball was not taking much bounce, so playing ‘across the line’ on balls coming in line with the wicket was risky. I decided to hit straight shots. I understood the conditions very well.
With this win, Mumbai Indians have reached seventh place in the points table and Tilak is hopeful that his team will continue to perform well in future also. He said, “We know what we are capable of doing. We have many World Cup winning players in our team. If we execute our strategy well then no one can stop us. So it is important that we keep our focus on the game and keep working hard.”
When asked about his favorite batting position, Tilak said that he likes to bat at number three. He said, “Personally, I like to bat at number three. Although I am ready to bat wherever the team needs me, but if anyone asks me, I will always say number three.”