Tilak Verma played a explosive inning of 101 runs in 45 balls against Gujarat Titans. However, Tilak started very slowly. At one time he was only on 19 runs in 22 balls, but then captain Hardik Pandya shouts at him, and then Tilak suddenly increases the pace of runs. After Hardik’s shout, Tilak scored 82 runs in 23 balls. After the match, Tilak told what captain Hardik had told him.

“Everyone knows Hardik bhai is very energetic. He was trying to boost my confidence. He said you can do it, you will do it. I just asked him to stay calm because I needed to concentrate. I assured him that I will take care of the rest,” Tilak said on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Center Live’.

Hardik Pandya is cheering for Tilak Varma!

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— Star Sports Kannada (@StarSportsKan) April 20, 2026

Tilak further said, “It was very important for the team and me. In the last four or five matches, one thing was constantly running in my mind 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 adapt to the team’s situation. I am thankful that it worked out that way. However, we should not think too far ahead and focus on one match at a time. Every game. It’s almost like a knockout for us. We know what we can do and the skills we have, so it’s important to keep our heads down and keep working hard.

On the Ahmedabad pitch and his preferred batting order, Tilak said, “Whenever MI comes to Ahmedabad, they usually give us a black soil wicket, which is a little slow. It is not that our batsmen cannot play. We know what we can do if there is a lot of bounce. It was slow and low, so we had to balance and try to hit straight. There was not much bounce. I understood the conditions well and decided to hit straight. Thank you I have been able to score some runs. However, I am happy to bat wherever the team needs me. Since childhood, I have practiced in such a way that I can play at any batting order, but if anyone asks me, I will always say number three.”

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