India T20I star Tilak Varma rebounded from a difficult first outing in the One Day Cup, striking a half-century against Essex today (August 7), as Hampshire cruised towards their target against Essex in Southampton.
The star India batter in the shortest format has been representing Hampshire over the last couple of months. He has played for them in four County Championship matches, and has stayed with the side for the opening three games of their One Day Cup campaign. Varma was a significant addition to Hampshire's side in the County Championship, hitting a century on debut before scoring 56 and 47 in his second game, and then striking another century in his third.
Tilak Varma scores maiden One-Day Cup fifty for Hampshire
In the first of the One Day Cup games, however, he was dismissed for a three-ball duck, which did not stop Hampshire from easing to a win over Glamorgan. Today, however, he recovered by hitting 54 off 52 balls at Utilita Bowl against Essex. He was eventually bowled by opposition captain and part-timer Tom Westley.
Varma is mostly known for his T20 power-hitting, having become the first player – male or female – to score centuries in three successive innings in T20 cricket last year. But, he has also played four ODIs for India, all of which came back in 2023. His List A runs have come at an average of 46.68 over 36 innings, and he has five hundreds to his name in the format.
His runs against Essex helped Hampshire in a 286-run chase. He supported an anchoring innings from Joe Weatherley, who by the 41st over was in cruise control on 88, with Hampshire needing 48 runs to win with six wickets remaining.
Match 12, Hampshire vs Essex
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Varma's final game in England this summer is set to be next Wednesday (August 13), against Worcestershire at New Road. He will likely be involved in India's Asia Cup T20 campaign in September.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
