Tilak Varma hails Asia Cup final knock against Pakistan as his most satisfying

India’s Tilak Varma described his unbeaten 69 in the Asia Cup final win against Pakistan as more satisfying than his two T20I centuries, crediting his Hyderabad coaches, family, and teammates for helping him deliver under intense pressure in Dubai.

HYDERABAD: India’s latest sensation Tilak Varma says his unbeaten 69 (53b, 3×4. 4×6) in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday night, gave him bigger satisfaction than his two T-20 international centuries.

“This is because we are playing Pakistan in the final and the pressure was immense. I just backed myself, tried to stay calm,” Tilak said on Tuesday.

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“I always believed in myself and was confident of finishing off the game. I am glad that I had the chance to do that. No better feeling than bringing joy to millions of Indians,” the classy southpaw said.

“Definitely, all the qualities I have shown in the Asia Cup final were the result of years of coaching by Salaam Sir (Salaam Bayash) and Prithvi Anna at the Legala Cricket Academy (Lingampally) here,” the India cricketer said.

“Whatever I am today is because of them. I owe everything I achieved so far in cricket to them and to my parents,” he said. “And, I am also grateful to the Hyderabad Cricket Association and the BCCI for their continuous support over the years,” he added.

Reflecting on the last over in the Asia Cup final when India needed 10 runs to win the title, Tilak said he was just thinking about the country and nothing else. “All that I tried was to stay focussed, calm and stick to the basics,” he said.

“Yes, there is pressure for sure. The Pakistanis were really coming hard at us. This was obvious after the ‘Operation Sindhoor’. But, Gauti Sir (head coach Gautam Gambhir), the captain Surya Bhai told everyone to stay calm, not to get distracted. There were few words exchanged but we preferred not to let those things affect our focus,” Tilak explained.

“It was all about controlling emotions under pressure. When Sanju Samson came to the middle, I just told him that I would absorb pressure at one and and his cameo was also very crucial like Dubey’s knock,” the Hyderabad captain said.

Commenting on the comparisons already being made with Virat Kohli’s exploits against Pakistan, a visibly pleased Tilak said he felt proud about that for he is a legend and a huge inspiration for many. ‘I am really happy that I could win the Asia Cup for the country,” he added.

Reflecting on not exchanging pleasantries with the Pakistan players, Tilak revealed that there were no specific instructions but in a way it also showed the kind of respect the team had for the country.

“Importantly, we knew the Pakistanis would come hard at us having lost the two previous games in the Asia Cup before the final. But we were fully prepared to counter their strategy,” Tilak said. “I fully agree with captain Surya that there is no competition with Pakistan. We have a worldclass bowling attack which can take on the best in the world. So, we were not overtly bothered when Pakistan had a good start in the first 10 overs in the final,” he said.

“Hamarey liye, desh humesha aage hai. Deshi ki liye hum jaan bhi dethey hai,” said a very emotional Tilak (For us country comes first and we are prepared to sacrifice our lives).