Pressure situations have taught me a lot as captain: Tilak Varma

India A captain Tilak Varma said the ongoing tri-nation tournament has strengthened his ability to handle pressure situations ahead of Sunday's final against Sri Lanka A. He praised his team's adaptability, backed the bowlers' recent improvement and identified early wickets as the key

Dambulla: India ‘A’ captain Tilak Varma acknowledged that the ongoing tri-nation tournament has provided him valuable lessons in handling pressure situations, which will come in handy against Sri Lanka ‘A’ during Sunday’s final here.

Twice in the competition, Tilak found himself making crucial tactical calls in the closing stages against the hosts. On one occasion, his decision to trust left-arm seamer Arshad Khan at the death helped India pull off a win after Sri Lanka appeared to be cruising.

---

In the other, during the ill-tempered contest that ended in a Super Over defeat for India, Arshad was again entrusted with the responsibility of stopping Sri Lanka’s charge in the final overs.

“As a captain, there are so many learnings in a tournament, especially in handling pressure situations. If you see, there are a few games which have come very close and also a few games where the weather has interrupted in between and DLS comes in,” Tilak said on the eve of the final against Sri Lanka ‘A’.

“But at the same time, we hold our nerves and play well when the team needs the best,” the Mumbai Indians left-hander said.

Despite the significance of the summit clash, Tilak insisted that his team would not alter its approach.

“Tomorrow is a big game and at the same time, nothing changes for us. However, what we have done since the first day of the tournament, the same thing goes again tomorrow. We should just follow our basics, be in the right frame of mind and we want to do well tomorrow,” the skipper added.

The left-handed batter acknowledged that all three teams had competed strongly in challenging conditions throughout the tournament.

Assessing the competition, Tilak said, “Definitely, if you have seen, every team has done well. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, everyone has played equally well in this tournament.”

Tilak conceded that the tracks at the Dambulla ground have been slightly tricky in nature.

“The wickets are slightly tricky. Some games are good to bat on first and some games are good to chase on.”

While expressing satisfaction with India’s batting performances, Tilak felt the bowlers had found their rhythm at the right time.

“As a batting unit, we have done really well and if you see from a bowling perspective, we were slightly here and there in a few games. But if you see the last game, our bowlers took charge and stepped up at the right time,” he said.

Tilak also identified Sri Lanka ‘A’s opening pair of Avishka Fernando and Niroshan Dickwella as a major threat and said early wickets would be crucial.

“Especially Sri Lankan bowlers are doing really well and if you see, the Sri Lankan opening pair is (doing) really well, especially in their batting. Dickwella and Fernando are doing really well. And our aim will be just to get a couple of wickets early on and restrict them to below 200-something, which will be good,” he said.

He praised the hosts for their hospitality and said adapting to the slower conditions had been a useful experience for the Indian batters.

“It has been really good. Sri Lankan cricketers look after us really well and especially playing in slower conditions will be slightly challenging for the spinners. But if you see, our batters have adapted well and done well from a batting perspective.

“If you see, Sri Lanka ‘A’ has been really good in their bowling and batting as well. So they are always giving a fight till the end and we want to play our A game against them. Then it will be a good game for both of us,” Tilak said.