Tilak Varma scored a hundred on his County Championship debut for Hampshire, helping his side overtake Essex’s first-innings total of 296 at Chelmsford.
The 22-year-old Indian left-hander, playing only his 19th first-class match, reached his century from 241 balls, after batting for more than six hours. He resumed on an overnight score of 98* and brought up his hundred soon after on day three of the clash (Tuesday). His innings included three sixes, all struck late on the first day.
Walking out to bat at No.4 with the team score reading 34-2 in 8.3 overs, Tilak formed key partnerships, first with opener Fletcha Middleton, who made 61, and later added 68 with skipper Ben Brown (42). He also shared a crucial partnership with Liam Dawson, who also reached his century. The duo stitched 133 runs for the fifth wicket, and their efforts ensured Hampshire closed day two on 293 for 4, just three runs behind Essex. They moved past the total early on day two.
Earlier in the match, Essex were bowled out for 296, with Kyle Abbott taking 5 for 26 for Hampshire.
Tilak Varma continues first-class record
Ahead of the county clash, Tilak had played 18 red-ball games, scoring 1,204 runs at an average of 50.16. In 28 innings, he had crossed 50 nine times, which also included five hundreds.
The 22-year-old, who plays for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, also has impressive white-ball numbers. In 36 List A games, he averages 48.19, while his T20 average of 43.03, along with a strike rate of 146.61, is staggering. Overall, he has nine hundred in List A and T20s combined.
The left-hander has also played 25 T20Is, averaging 49.93, the second-highest in the world among players who have batted in at least 20 innings. He is also one of five batters with T20I tons in consecutive innings, a feat he achieved against South Africa last year. He followed it up with another T20 ton for Hyderabad, a world record.
Tilak’s best T20 score of 151 off 67 balls is also the highest individual score by an Indian male cricketer.
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