Couldn’t sleep with excitement before match: MI batter Tilak Varma

MI batter delighted to play first IPL match at the ‘home ground’

Hyderabad: The thought of playing his first Indian Premier League match at the ground where he grew up playing cricket as a kid, kept him awake the night before his match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The southpaw looked truly a homeboy during his 17-ball 37-run knock that propelled Mumbai to a commanding 192/5 and a 14-run win over the home side Sunrisers.

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Speaking after the victory, Tilak said it was his dream to play here. “The experience was great. It is my dream to play at the home ground. And playing well and winning the game was a happy moment. I was very excited and I could not sleep last night. I used to play here from my childhood. We planned well and luckily we executed our plans well,” he said.

The left-hander was moved up and down the order but he said he was comfortable batting anywhere. “I am always comfortable to play anywhere. I have developed my game such that I can play anywhere and according to the situation.”

Tilak provided the impetus for Mumbai’s innings and helped them to a big total. Speaking on his strategy, he said, “The wicket was turning a bit for spinners. So I was waiting for fast bowlers. Washi (Washington Sundar) and Mayank (Markande) were bowling well. So I waited and once the fast bowlers came, I changed them and it went in my way.”

A day before the game, the Mumbai Indians squad, including their mentor Sachin Tendulkar, was at his home for dinner. Speaking of hosting it, he said, “God of cricket (Tendulkar) came to my home. It was like a dream. I can’t express it. My favourite players Rohit (Sharma), Surya, all of them came to my home. When I asked them to come to my home, they all said yes. It was delightful.”

When asked about the advice from Tendulkar, the youngster said, “Sachin sir said whenever I bat, whether scoring runs or not, I should not think too much. He and Rohit Bhai told me to keep my calm and follow the process. They told me to have a smile on my face all the time.”

Meanwhile, Sunrisers coach Brian Lara said Mumbai were the better team on the day and they deserved to win. “We tried to stay in the game throughout but lost wickets consistently throughout the chase. We are losing two wickets in powerplay in all the games. That means we are trying to play a catch-up game. We need to improve in that area,” he said after the game.

He also said lack of finishers is a worry for the team. “It is a work in progress. We need the guys like Tewatias and Millers who can finish off the game. We need batter to understand and calculate the situation. We have been working on that a lot.”